Colorado City schools should trim the fat
 
IN OUR VIEW
The Spectrum
 
The Colorado City School District remains under the microscope of Arizona investigators after the district missed the second of two deadlines to report spending for the 2003 fiscal year.

According to published reports, the district stands to lose about 10 percent of its funding, which could reach into the $400,000 range. Such a loss could result in the loss of a significant number of jobs and could hurt the education of children attending the public school system there.

No explanation has been given for the tardy reports. But clearly something is wrong in the district if routine reports are not being filed -- at the very least a problem with internal procedures.

Unfortunately, the children who will be harmed by the smaller funding are largely not members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which holds polygamy as one of its tenets. The children remaining in the school system are mostly children who don't follow the FLDS doctrine and, therefore, don't consider the church's president, the elusive Warren Jeffs, to be their prophet.

District officials have to do a couple of things to benefit the students under their care.

First, they have to get the proper reports turned in to the state of Arizona. These reports were not a surprise, so they should be turned in on time.

Second, officials have to find ways to trim the fat in the district without harming students' educations. In the Colorado City district, there are about 100 employees for 300 students, a 3-to-1 ratio. Most other districts, according to research by The Spectrum and The Arizona Republic, show ratios are usually 10-to-1 or higher.

Not all of those employees are teachers. In fact, The Arizona Republic reported that a study of Arizona Auditor General's reports in Phoenix showed that only about 40 percent of expenditures in the district went toward classrooms. About 60 percent went to such things as administration, plant operations and transportation, including upkeep on the district's private airplane.

That 40-60 split is almost exactly opposite of Arizona's other 225 school districts.

It's time for the district to trim the fat. Less should be spent on administration and more on the children. Kids are, after all, why schools exist in the first place.

Other districts manage with larger ratios. Colorado City can, too.
 
TheSpectrum.com
Originally published Monday, August 30, 2004
 
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