Funding for K-12 Education
Description:
The Arizona Joint Legislative Budget Committee produces two reports on K-12 funding that include funding from local governments and the federal government in addition to state monies. One report is for total funding, including capital outlays (for the construction of buildings and for the purchase of land and equipment). The other report is limited to funding for maintenance and operation (M&O: the compensation of employees and the purchase of supplies, materials, and contractual services). Most capital outlays, which are driven by a growing population, do not benefit current students, so M&O is the more meaningful measure of education funding.
The funding data are reported for fiscal years; for example, fiscal year 2011 runs from July 1, 2010 through June 30, 2011. Each report includes a ten-year time series.
The funding figures were divided first by enrollment, and then 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:
K-12 Maintenance & Operation (M&O) Fundingreport, the Arizona Joint Legislative Budget Committee http://www.azleg.state.az.us/jlbc.htm. Fall enrollment figures come from the Digest of Education Statistics, published annually by the U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/. 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. Annual population estimates as of July 1 are produced by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau http://www.census.gov/popest/estimates.html.
Data Quality Comments:
Because of differences by state in accounting systems, the JLBC data are not comparable to those of any other state. The current fiscal year expenditure data represent the latest approved appropriations.
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. Personal income is a comprehensive measure of the economy but has conceptual limitations when employed to adjust public revenues and expenditures.
Total Funding for Elementary and Secondary Education Per Student Per $1,000 of Per Capita Personal Income, Arizona State Government
Visualization Notes:
After fluctuating in a narrow range for several years, maintenance and operations funding per student relative to the ability of the state’s residents to pay increased in fiscal year 2010. The capital outlays figure has not changed much in recent years.
Maintenance and Operations Funding by Source of Funding for Elementary and Secondary Education Per Student Per $1,000 of Per Capita Personal Income, Arizona State Government
Visualization Notes:
The general fund is the primary source of maintenance and operations funding for K-12 education, but local government property taxes also provide substantial revenues. The permanent fund, which consists of receipts from state land sales and leases, provides very little funding. Proposition 301 is funded by the 0.6 percentage point increase in the sales tax rate that was approved by voters in November 2000.
Measured per student relative to the ability of the state’s residents to pay, general fund appropriations for maintenance and operations have dropped in recent years but this has been offset by increases in federal funding—due to the federal stimulus program—and local government funding. Local property tax receipts rose in fiscal years 2009 and 2010 due to increases in property values a few years earlier. Property tax collections are now falling due to the large drop in property values after 2007 and the federal stimulus monies disappear at the end of fiscal year 2011.
Data Source
K-12 Maintenance & Operation (M&O) Fundingreport, the Arizona Joint Legislative Budget Committee http://www.azleg.state.az.us/jlbc.htm. Fall enrollment figures come from the Digest of Education Statistics, published annually by the U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/. 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. Annual population estimates as of July 1 are produced by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau http://www.census.gov/popest/estimates.html.
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