This category captures the expenditures for central financial and business operations, such as disbursements, budgeting, payroll, accounting, data processing, and planning and research of long-term goals. Also accounted for are such human resource functions as staff development, recruitment, evaluation and training.[31]
In 2010, the city locale group spent $692 per pupil on other support services — 74 percent more than the amount spent in the suburban locale group, which had the second-highest level of such spending (see Graphic 23). The rural locale group, however, produced the largest per-pupil spending increase on other support services from 2004 to 2010: 18 percent. The other three major locale groups also increased spending in this area over this period — by around 10 percent in the city and town locales, and by 2 percent in the suburban locale.
Of the 12 subgroups, the remote rural subgroup and DPS increased per-pupil spending on other support services the most, by 38 and 33 percent, respectively. These expenditures also increased significantly for the midsize city (29 percent), remote town (26 percent) and small suburban (24 percent) subgroups. Large suburban districts cut spending by 1 percent on average, and distant town districts did so by 4 percent on average. After generally declining since 2004, DPS’ expenditures in this category rose substantially in 2010, and that year DPS spent at least twice ($1,250) what any of the other 11 locale subgroups did in per-pupil expenditures on other support services.[*]
Graphic 23: School District Other Support Services 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
These expenditures generally make up a similar portion of operational spending in the various locale groups. For the four main locale groups, as Graphic 24 shows, the portion of operating expenditures dedicated to other support services in 2010 was between 3.6 percent (town) and 5.3 percent (city). Average suburban district spending on other support services as a portion of operating expenditures decreased by about 11 percent from 2004 to 2010. This portion increased only in the rural locale group over this period — about 3 percent.
From 2004 to 2010, the greatest increase in spending on other support services as a portion of operational expenditures occurred in the remote rural subgroup: 15 percent. The distant town subgroup, in contrast, decreased this portion by 15 percent. Among the 12 locale subgroups, DPS spent the largest portion of operating expenditures on other support services in 2010 (8 percent), while the smallest portion was spent by the small suburban subgroup (3.5 percent).[†]
Graphic 24: School District Other Support Services 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 49.
[†] See Appendix B, Graphic 50.
[31] “The National Public Education Financial Survey Instruction Booklet,” (National Center for Education Statistics, 2007), 59-60, http://www.ped.state .nm.us/div/fin/school.budget/dl08/recFinalReports0607/NPEFSManual.pdf (accessed March 22, 2011).