Appropriations for Education
Description:
The primary focus of state government public finance is the general fund. Appropriations are approved by the Arizona Legislature before the beginning of each fiscal year, but adjustments to appropriations can be made during the year. Actual expenditures are essentially the same as the latest approved appropriations. The data are reported for fiscal years; for example, fiscal year 2012 runs from July 1, 2011 through June 30, 2012. An annual time series of expenditures are available back to fiscal year 1979 and include appropriations through the current fiscal year.
In order to compare expenditures over time, the effects of inflation, population growth, and per capita economic growth must be considered. Reporting expenditures per $1,000 of personal income automatically adjusts for all three factors. The fiscal year average (the average of the four quarters of the fiscal year) of personal income is used to standardize the public finance data.
In addition to measuring appropriations per $1,000 of personal income, a better gauge for public programs that serve only a portion of the population is to measure appropriations relative to the caseload of the program. For education, the caseload measure is enrollment. Because of the number of part-time students, full-time-equivalent enrollment is used for higher education. Per student appropriations were divided by per capita personal income in order to adjust for inflation and per capita economic growth. Per capita personal income was calculated using the fiscal year average for personal income and the average of the population at the beginning and end of the fiscal year.
Data Source:
Expenditures are reported by the Arizona Joint Legislative Budget Committee (JLBC) http://www.azleg.state.az.us/jlbc.htm. The expenditure data are taken from the Appropriations Report; when released late in a fiscal year, the report includes revised appropriations for the current fiscal year and appropriations for the following fiscal year. The Appropriations Report is released several weeks after the budget has been passed by the Legislature and approved by the Governor.
Fall enrollment figures come from the Digest of Education Statistics, published annually by the U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/. Since the publication of these data lag behind by more than two years, estimates of the latest numbers for K-12 education are made using the enrollment figures reported by the Arizona Department of Education. More up-to-date data for higher education are available from the NCES IPEDS database, using the EF20xxA file.
Personal income is estimated quarterly by state by the U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis http://www.bea.gov/regional/sqpi/default.cfm?selTable=SQ1. It is released about three months after the end of the quarter; revisions to estimates for prior quarters are made every quarter.
The calculation of per capita personal income for the fiscal year uses annual population estimates as of July 1 that are produced by the U. S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau http://www.census.gov/popest/estimates.html. The average of the beginning and end of the fiscal year population is used. Since the Census Bureau estimates have not been revised to reflect the 2010 census results, the population figures from 2000 through 2010 represent interim estimates that are linked to both the 2000 and 2010 decennial censuses. Figures since 2010 are projections.
Data Quality Comments:
Because of differences by state in accounting systems, the JLBC data are not comparable to those of any other state. Inconsistencies and inaccuracies exist within the time series of enrollment in elementary and secondary education.
Some of the inputs to the calculation of personal income by state are estimated. Personal income estimates are subject to revision. Figures for the current fiscal year are projected. Personal income is a comprehensive measure of the economy but has conceptual limitations when employed to adjust public revenues and expenditures.
Education Appropriations by Type Per $1,000 of Personal Income, Arizona State Government General Fund
Visualization Notes:
Most of the general fund appropriations for education go to elementary and secondary schools. The appropriations for the School Facilities Board, which was created in 1998, are primarily capital outlays used to build elementary and secondary schools.
Relative to the size of the Arizona economy, general fund appropriations have fallen for K-12, community colleges, and universities. Between fiscal year (FY) 1979 (the earliest data) and FY 2012, K-12 support from the general fund per $1,000 of personal income fell by one-third. The decreases were much more significant for higher education, with the FY 2012 figure for community colleges only 17 percent that of FY 1979 and the latest figure for universities only 32 percent of the value 33 years earlier. Percentage decreases were significant over just the last 10 years: -20 percent for K-12, -68 percent for community colleges, and -46 percent for universities.
Enrollment in Arizona
Visualization Notes:
K-12 and higher education enrollment has increased substantially over time. However, after adjusting for the state’s population growth, little change has occurred since the early 1980s in K-12 enrollment and higher education enrollment has declined.
Full-Time-Equivalent Enrollment in Arizona
Visualization Notes:
Per capita full-time-equivalent enrollment has dropped a little since the early 1990s at both community colleges and universities. Per capita enrollment in higher education typically rises during a deep recession; such a gain occurred in 2009.
Education Appropriations Per Student Per $1,000 of Per Capita Personal Income, Arizona State Government General Fund
Visualization Notes:
Significant declines in K-12 education funding from the state government general fund have occurred since the early 1980s on a per student per $1,000 of per capita personal income basis. Despite a small rebound in fiscal year 2011, the figure remained well below that of earlier years.
Education Appropriations Per Full-Time-Equivalent Student Per $1,000 of Per Capita Personal Income, Arizona State Government General Fund
Visualization Notes:
Higher education funding has dropped even more than K-12 funding since the mid-1980s. Between fiscal years 1985 and 2010, support from the general fund per full-time-equivalent student relative to income fell 46 percent for community colleges and 45 percent for universities, with particularly large drops in fiscal years 2009 and 2010.
Data Source
Expenditures are reported by the Arizona Joint Legislative Budget Committee (JLBC) http://www.azleg.state.az.us/jlbc.htm. The expenditure data are taken from the Appropriations Report; when released late in a fiscal year, the report includes revised appropriations for the current fiscal year and appropriations for the following fiscal year. The Appropriations Report is released several weeks after the budget has been passed by the Legislature and approved by the Governor.
Fall enrollment figures come from the Digest of Education Statistics, published annually by the U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/. Since the publication of these data lag behind by more than two years, estimates of the latest numbers for K-12 education are made using the enrollment figures reported by the Arizona Department of Education. More up-to-date data for higher education are available from the NCES IPEDS database, using the EF20xxA file.
Personal income is estimated quarterly by state by the U. S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis http://www.bea.gov/regional/sqpi/default.cfm?selTable=SQ1. It is released about three months after the end of the quarter; revisions to estimates for prior quarters are made every quarter.
The calculation of per capita personal income for the fiscal year uses annual population estimates as of July 1 that are produced by the U. S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau http://www.census.gov/popest/estimates.html. The average of the beginning and end of the fiscal year population is used. Since the Census Bureau estimates have not been revised to reflect the 2010 census results, the population figures from 2000 through 2010 represent interim estimates that are linked to both the 2000 and 2010 decennial censuses. Figures since 2010 are projections.
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