Woodstock Academy vs. Woodstock Public School Spending
There has been a lot of whining and wailing lately about how Woodstock Academy gets first dibs on whatever spending there will be in a given year and how the WPS system is degrading due to a lack of funds because of it. I have been looking for a way to bring a little reality to the issue and so took a few minutes and put together the following chart:
The chart compares Woodstock Academy Tuition with construction costs added, to the actual expenditures per student for PK-8 in the WPS system. I know this isn’t quite apples to apples as the WPS numbers include SPED and Transportation but the real issue here is really- “how is spending changing with time, one versus the other?” Including SPED and transportation means no games with numbers of students or with moving dollars around.
Also, these numbers are very easy to check as the tuition and construction costs are right from the BOE budget documents and the WPS numbers are simply the total spending minus the “All High School” spending (includes HS SPED and Transportation expense) divided by the number of students in the WPS system, again, right from the BOE budget documents. So there shouldn’t be too much arguing about the numbers themselves.
I used actual spending except for the 2008-9 numbers as they were readily available and vary somewhat from budgeted numbers due to the “Phantom Students” and other variances that always seem to go to the benefit of the WPS system where pretty much every dollar gets spent one way or another.
What is very apparent from the chart is that the rate of spending by the WPS has been increasing rapidly as compared to the Academy – the gap between the two is closing fast.
Just for reference, it is generally understood that secondary school spending is expected to be about 20% greater than for primary schools due to the broader curriculum required. You can check national averages so it should be expected that there will be some gap between the two.
The big question is this: If Woodstock Academy is getting all the money and WPS the leftovers; why is spending for WPS increasing so much faster than tuition at the Academy?
Maybe all the whining and wailing is just practice for the upcoming budget season.
Dave Richardson
Wow, unbelievable Dave.
What has gone up at WPS are teacher’s and administrative salaries. When the checks are written at the end of the school year, how many are actually for the Children? Have they added lawn maintenance to the curriculum? How about bus maintenance, computer maintenance?
Leasing equipment is a lot more sensible in the school application. Every two years you get new computers and buses and the cost is pre-calculated. Time to look at outsourcing.
Oh ya, they said in 2007 they could have leased two buses but Prop 46 gave them enough money to buy them instead.
The Breen Cafe argues every day that Woodstock Academy is hurting the amount of money Public Schools has to spend. Well maybe if they keep complaining the Town will issue vouches for Woodstock High School students to attend the brand new "state of the art" Killingly High School and all the problems will be over?
I have a suggestion! Instead of padding the schools with teachers and administrative staff, why don’t they hire a purchasing agent, you know a professional? Who might manage money better than the BOE is doing now!