[Local-Maine-Schools] Total school spending vs. governance and unit size: a VERY startling graph

[Brian Hubbell]

I'd like to encourage all of you (even those who are not ordinarily
interested in graphs) to look at the one linked below, as what it shows I
think is fairly astonishing.

"Total per-pupil education cost as a function of governance model and school
unit size",
http://mdischools.net/Total_per_pupil_vs_governance_&_size.png

The graph plots the all the available currently reported spending figures
for every school unit in the state and plots the per-pupil cost in each unit
as a function of both number of pupils in each unit and also the school
governance type.

This time I separated the figures for "minimum receivers", those units such
as outer islands, the wealthiest coastal towns, and isolated inland towns
where the ratio of property value to number of students is exceptionally
high.

What the graph then shows is that governance structure and school unit size
each have virtually no correlation to per-pupil spending.  None.

Beyond the minimum receivers (who, without state subsidy, evidently still
commit to small local schools with relatively high levels of programming),
unions, SADs, and municipal districts all spend at the same average of about
$10,000 per student across the state.  The range narrows a bit as the units
get larger, but the average of spending remains -- the same.

(Graph on web page, including source data)
http://mdischools.net/Total_per_pupil_vs_governance_&_size.htm

(Printable in *.pdf format)
http://mdischools.net/Total_per_pupil_vs_governance_&_size.pdf
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