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Methodology – Spending

These interactive dashboards show where education funds are spent within Utah’s public K-12 education system. The dashboard integrates data that is collected and published by the Utah State Board of Education (USBE). Sources include local education agency (LEA) Annual Financial Reports (AFRs) and Average Daily Membership (ADM) reports. By using an interactive visualization platform, the dashboard is intended to make it easier for the public to understand and interpret education spending in Utah.

One important item to note is that capital expenses (such as building and bond costs) are often not reflected in common sources of education spending. The cost of buildings and other capital expenses are a sizeable portion of education spending. The dashboards include a toggle function that permits a user to see spending, including and excluding these capital expenses.

Data Integration Methodology

• LEA Expenses
  • LEA expenses were compiled from AFR reports published by the USBE for FY2014-FY 2018.  
  • Separate files were merged to create a single unified dataset.
  • Student average daily membership (ADM), and aggregated student demographic information were added to the data set. 
  • Subtotals and grand totals listed in the AFR reports were excluded from the dataset to avoid double-counting of expense amounts. AFR reports included totals for object numbers, function numbers, fund numbers, LEA type (districts and charters), and LEA name. 
    • Capital Expenses
      • Capital expenses include items categorized as facilities acquisition/construction or facilities acquisition/construction services. Objects captured in this category include construction, machinery, technical services, land and site improvements, AND technology-related hardware.
      • Debt services are included in this category, which USBE defines as: “[a]ctivities related to servicing the long-term debt of the school district, including payments of both principal and interest. This function should be used to account for bond interest payments, retirement of bonded debt (including current and advance refunds), capital lease payments, and other long-term notes.”
• AFR Reports in their original form may be found at: https://www.schools.utah.gov/financialoperations/reporting?mid=2159&tid=1
• Student Count Information
  • Student counts and demographic data are reported by the USBE on an annual basis.
• Student ADM was used to calculate per student spending. Although October 1 headcounts information is available, ADM was chosen as a more accurate representation of student participation throughout the entire school year.
• To account for per-student spending, each expense item was divided by the student ADM. Per-object expenses were then summed to give a per-student spending total for each LEA.
  • Statewide averages divide the state’s total spending by the total number of students. Average spending per ADM by LEAs shows the per student average between LEAs.
• Differences between district-level ADM and ADM for individual charter schools can be significant due to district overhead costs. A toggle is included in visualizations allowing the viewer to group charter schools into a proxy LEA for comparison to districts, or to view spending by individual charter schools.
• Student ADM reports in their original form may be found at: https://www.schools.utah.gov/data/reports?mid=1424&tid=4
• Student counts for Utah Schools for the Deaf and Blind are reported every fiscal year. Reports can be found at:
  https://www.usdb.org/about/administration-annual-report/
• USBE Administrative Expenses
  • Total USBE expense data was obtained from Transparent Utah, FY 2014-FY2018.  
  • Utah Schools for the Deaf and Blind (USDB) expenses were identified as a sub-category of USBE spending.
  • USBE pass-thru money (that the USBE pays to the LEAs) was also identified to avoid double counting expenses. Any expense that was described as a distribution to LEAs, federally determined funds to school districts, or transfer funds was excluded from USBE expenses (since they are already included within LEA spending).
  • USBE operational expenses were determined by subtracting USBE pass-thru money (to LEAs) and USDB expenses from the total USBE expenses.
• Labeling
  • Labels for functions, funds, and objects in the dashboard were labeled for consistency with the USBE Chart of Accounts for Financial Reporting. Detailed Function Codes can be found at:
    https://www.schools.utah.gov/file/613219f0-8aa3-4055-afcc-fa4e93a8ce10
  • The purpose of designated function codes is “to describe the activity for which a service or commodity is acquired”. Code lists can be found at: https://www.schools.utah.gov/financialoperations/reporting?mid=2159&tid=3
    • Summary categories are section headers for expense types.
    • Detailed categories are the sub-categories contained under each header.