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Show Iron District ranked 31st CEDAR CITY - Iron School District ranked 31 out of Utah's 40 school districts in maintenance and operation (M&O) spending per student during the last completed school year, according to a study by the Utah Taxpayers Association. The district spent $1,656.74 per student in average daily attendance compared to a statewide average of $1,730.65. Alpine District was lowest at $1,532.78 per capita. Daggett, the state's s smallest school district was highest at $4,614.08 in M & O spending per student. The comparisons show 1980-81 school year figures. Smaller districts generally had higher per capita costs due to higher administrative overhead and partially-filled classrooms which required more teachers for fewer students. Daggett's higher spending can be traced to the pupil-teacher ratio of only 9.8 students per teacher. Alpine's low figure is largely due to more uniform class sizes which average 24.3 students per teacher. Iron School District had a pupil-teacher ratio of 20.5 compared to a state average of 22.3. The ratio is based on full-time-equivalent classroom teachers and average daily attendance. The UTA study also compared school districts by an indicator showing emphasis on classroom instructors: "teachers as a percent of total personnel." The index showed that 58 percent of Iron School District employees are classroom teachers. The state average is 59 percent. The remaining employees include administrators, principals, counselors, janitors, bus drivers and others. The 1981 property tax mill levy for Iron School District was 45.50 mills. This compares to the state average of 40.87. During the last ten years average daily attendance has grown 13 percent in Utah schools for an increase of 36,299 students. In the same period, total school M&O spending in the Beehive state increased 199 percent or $372 million. |