Expenditures under this category include general building operations, such as heating, lighting, ventilation and upkeep of facilities.[27] Also included are building security, custodial, grounds maintenance, and vehicles and other maintenance equipment.[28] Utility expenses are included here, as are furniture and general supplies like cleaning equipment and paper towels.[29]
Operations and maintenance expenditures followed the same trend as student support and instructional staff support services: The city and suburban locale groups outspent the town and rural locale groups both in per-pupil terms (see Graphic 19) and as a percent of total operating expenditures per pupil (Graphic 20). In 2010, the city locale group spent about 53 percent more per pupil on operations and maintenance than the town group — $1,348 versus $879, respectively — and 48 percent more than the rural group, which spent $909 per pupil. Per-pupil spending in each of the four major locale groups increased from 2004 to 2010, with the city locale group producing the largest increase (9 percent).
Graphic 19: School District Operations and Maintenance Expenditures per Pupil by Locale Group, Michigan, Fiscal Years 2004-2010
Source: Local Education Agency Universe Survey; Michigan Department of Education, Data for National Public Education Financial Survey
DPS led all locale subgroups with a 32 percent increase in per-pupil operations and maintenance spending, followed by the midsize city and remote rural subgroups at 12 percent and 11 percent, respectively. Districts in remote towns on average cut per-pupil spending on operations and maintenance by 2 percent over this seven-year period.[*]
Operations and maintenance spending as a percent of operating expenditures was relatively similar among the four major locale groups (see Graphic 20). In 2010, the town locale group spent the smallest portion at 9.2 percent, and the city locale group spent the largest at 10.3 percent. All four of the locale groups decreased spending by this measure from 2004 to 2010, with the suburban group producing the largest reduction (11 percent). Among the 12 subgroups in 2010, DPS devoted the largest portion of operating expenditures to operations and maintenance (11.5 percent), while the fringe town subgroup dedicated the least (9.1 percent).[†]
Graphic 20: School District Operations and Maintenance Expenditures as a Percent of Operating Expenditures by Locale Group, Michigan, Fiscal Years 2004-2010
Source: Local Education Agency Universe Survey; Michigan Department of Education, Data for National Public Education Financial Survey
[*] See Appendix B, Graphic 45
[†] See Appendix B, Graphic 46.
[27] “Ed Form 2447,” (National Center for Education Statistics, 2006), 7, http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/pdf/stfis061aform.pdf (accessed March 2, 2011).
[28] Ave, Honegger, and Johnson, “Documentation for the NCES Common Core of Data National Public Education Financial Survey (NPEFS), School Year 2007-08 (Fiscal Year 2008)” (National Center for Education Statistics, 2010), B-4, http://nces .ed.gov/ccd/pdf/stfis081agen.pdf (accessed March 4, 2011).
[29] “The National Public Education Financial Survey Instruction Booklet,” (National Center for Education Statistics, 2007), 56-57, http://www.ped. state.nm.us/div/fin/school.budget/dl08/recFinalReports0607/NPEFSManual.pdf (accessed March 22, 2011).