How does Sisters’ budget compare?

Last updated 6/13/2006 at Noon

Sisters School District puts about 64 percent of its money into “teaching and learning” according to data compiled by the Chalkboard Project in its “Open Books” program.

That’s less than the state average of 69 percent and lower that comparable districts such as Siulslaw (68 percent) and Umatilla (65 percent).

Sisters spends more than average on “buses, buildings and food” (20 percent compared to 17 percent statewide, 18 percent for Siuslaw and 19 percent for Umatilla).

Sisters School Superintendent Ted Thonstad thinks the data compiled by the nonpartisan research group is useful, within limits.

“I think it can give the public an idea how the money is being spent in a very simple, graphic form,” he said.

The devil, of course, is in the details. The breakdown is heavily influenced by how funds are allocated among budget categories. Such categorization is not completely standardized throughout the state and staff and budget committees make judgment calls as to where funds should be placed in the budget.

For example, Thonstad noted, Sisters allocated a pass-through item regarding retired employees’ insurance to “business services.” Though there’s no actual expenditure, that item probably inflated Sisters’ business services numbers in the study.

“The problem with it is that it’s all based on what ‘bucket’ you drop the stuff into and there’s some discretion in how you code a particular expense,” Thonstad said.

The data is welcome to school administrators in one area, Thonstad noted: It explodes the notion that school districts are “administration heavy.”

The state average for central administration is 3 percent of the budget. Sisters stands at 4 percent while Siuslaw is at a low 2 percent and Umatilla carries a heavier 7 percent. “Principal’s office” takes another 7 percent chunk statewide; Sisters stands at 5 percent, Siuslaw at 7 percent and Umatilla at 6 percent.

General public perception has been that districts spend as much as a third of their budget on administrative costs.

Thonstad says that Sisters runs lean on administrative staff and public education in general is less executive-heavy than enterprises of comparable size in the private sector.

“If the public will look at (the data) and make an attempt to understand it, it can be very useful data in overcoming, hopefully, some of the incorrect data or misperceptions that are out there,” Thonstad said.

Information is available at http://www.openbooksproject.org.

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Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.