Study Shows School District Ranks Top in Productivity

A new study by the Center for American Progress, a Washington D.C.-based think tank, has given the Mehlville School District high marks for being one of the state’s most productive and efficient districts, delivering high student achievement despite spending some of the least amount per pupil of any district in Missouri.

Released Jan. 19, the “Return on Educational Investment” report by the nonpartisan Center for American Progress attempted to analyze the productivity of almost every major school district in the country. The study measured the academic achievement of students in relation to its educational spending in 2008 while controlling for factors such as cost of living and the number of students in poverty. 

For the study, the Center for American Progress culled data from the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education statistics and pulled student achievement scores and budget information from a variety of sources, including the New America Foundation’s Federal Education Budget Project and California-based company GreatSchools.

According to the center’s findings, Mehlville took in $98 million in revenue, 87 percent of which came from local tax sources. Of this, 60 percent was spent on instructional expenditures; 20 percent on operations, food service and other expenses; 12 percent on administration; and 8 percent on student and staff support.

After adjustments, the study found Mehlville spent only $6,013 per student while having a rating of 52 in the study’s student achievement index – the average percentage of a district’s fourth-grade, fifth-grade and high school students who scored proficient or above on state standardized tests. Because of this, the district was one of 41 in the state to receive the study’s highest return on investment ranking. It had the lowest per pupil spending with the highest academic achievement.

Out of the 370 Missouri districts studied, Mehlville was placed 21st in terms of the least amount spent per pupil. At $4,756, Bayless School District spent the least of any Missouri school, but also had a fairly low achievement index of 35. 

In general, St. Louis’ city school districts performed more poorly than their suburban counterparts with the number of low income students affecting efficiency more than the amount of money spent.

Clayton School District had 72 percent of its students score proficient or above but spent more than twice as much per pupil, $13,920, to achieve that result, which earned it an average return on investment ranking. In comparison, the St. Louis City School District still spent more than Mehlville at $9,488 per pupil with only 18 percent of them, on average, scoring proficient or above.

For Mehlville Deputy Superintendent Eric Knost, the news did not come as a surprise, although he was an unaware the study was being conducted. Knost will be taking the helm as superintendent at the start of the 2011-2012 school year and said the district has always followed the philosophy of doing more with less.

“The bottom line is that we are always focused on getting high student achievement and the best results for kids at the lowest possible price,” Knost said.

The district has had little choice but to do just that. In November, Mehlville voters rejected an 88-cent property tax increase that would have funded an ambitious roster of new construction projects; computer and equipment upgrades; and expanded kindergarten and early childhood education programs. Knost said the area has historically been hesitant to pass tax increases.

“Year after year, we are forced to operate on how to get a lot on a smaller budget than most are used to dealing with,” Knost said.

He noted, however, that “classrooms are where results come from” and cited an excellent teaching staff as one of the district’s reasons for scoring well in the study. Knost said the district’s budgetary concerns provide added difficulty in attracting and retaining quality staff.

“We try to get the best and it is a real challenge to keep them because other districts often pay more,” Knost said.

In addition, Knost said he understands the community values that low cost per pupil, so he focuses on getting the most out of all programs in the district. To do this, the district is always “putting everything under the microscope and doing the most we can with each dollar we spend,” he said.

These kind of goals—making tough choices, focusing on outcomes and prioritizing quality instruction—were all things the Center for American Progress study cited as hallmarks of the most efficient districts.

Ulrich Bolser, a senior fellow at the center directed the study and said that he hoped it starts a conversation within districts about how exactly money is spent without advocating that there necessarily needs to be more or less of it.

“Our goal is not to argue that money doesn’t matter… it’s just that we need to have school districts keep an eye on their bottom line,” he said. “School districts should spend money wisely on programs that are proven to show student achievement.”

Despite attempts to adjust for such factors, the study showed that districts with higher percentages of low-income students were likely to be more inefficient. It takes an average of 40 percent more dollars to educate a student coming from a poor background compared to his or her wealthier counterparts, Bolser said. 

Because of this, the study also included a predicative ranking that measured how well a district performed in the study compared to how it should have done given factors such as demographics. In this area, Mehlville did worse, earning only an average ranking.

Knost said he is proud of what the district has been able to accomplish and will continue to strive to raise student achievement with the resources at the district’s disposal.

“We ask, ‘How do we do it with what we have?’” Knost said, explaining that in other districts he has worked in, the question is often instead, “How much will it cost to do that?”

More information about the study can be found at the Center for American Progress' website along with an interactive map comparing the results of Missouri's districts.