'Taxpayers' Guide' to Montclair School Spending

Taxpayers in Montclair can now look at how their tax dollars are being spent by the school district -- cent by cent -- with a new guide released by the Department of Education. 

The “2012 Taxpayers’ Guide to Education Spending” was released last week. This compressive guide includes “a full accounting for all dollars spent on ... schools to provide a complete picture of spending in the state,” according to a press release issued by the DOE.  

The Montclair School District spent $17,806 per pupil in 2010-11, close to the state average of $17,352.

Only the budgeted costs per pupil were provided for the 2011-12 school year, which provide a less comprehensive picture of spending because it does not factor in pension payments, transportation costs, and other things.

Other costs in Montclair included:

—$134 was spent in costs per pupil for classroom supplies/textbooks.

—86.2% of revenue sources were derived from local taxes.

—The 2011-12 budgeted costs amount per pupil is $14,392.

The full guide to the Montclair School District’s spending can be found here. 

Among other findings, the DOE’s guide found that there have been trends in three key areas statewide since the 2006-07 school year. 

• The budgetary cost per pupil for instruction was virtually flat, rising from 59.0 percent to 59.1 percent;

• The budgetary cost per pupil for administration declined from 11.0 percent to 10.5 percent; and 

• The budgetary cost per pupil for student support services rose from 15.1 percent to 15.6 percent.