Are you aware that the Blaine County School District is outspending the average school district in Idaho by 215 percent? The District 61 per-pupil cost is $13,777. The state average is $6,393, a difference of $7,384 per pupil. We are outspending Jerome by more than $8,000 per pupil, or 270 percent. According to the Heritage Foundation, District 61 is probably right at the top with New York and New Jersey in per-pupil expenditures on education in the whole nation.
Twin Falls' estimated upcoming budget is $62.8 million for approximately 7,300 students. Blaine County's budget is $74 million for more than 3,000 students. Twin Falls is budgeting to educate 4,000 more students for $12 million less. District 61's spending has grown $30 million in nine years and the student enrollment has only increased approximately 300 students. That is $100,000 per additional student.
If there is any correlation between spending and achievement-test scores, Blaine County student's scores should be soaring off the end of the graph.
It should be pretty easy to pare $10 million to $15 million out of the district's spending each year. This money could go to the Recreation District to fund a golf course, or perhaps a better swimming pool for children and adults alike in Hailey. The District 61 surplus this year is $12 million to $15 million.
The operational arm of our school district could be reduced immensely by bidding a lot of the services and eliminating the speculative home-building arm of the district. After all, isn't it an educational institution?
One recently elected school board member campaigned on getting the public involved in our schools. This is a must and I would hope an accountant or an auditor might get involved because $74 million is a whole lot of money to spend every year.
Tom Richmond Sr.
Blaine County