Mississippi school districts spent $94 million on salaries for central office administrators and principals in FY 1992 (approximately $110 million with fringe benefits). Spend per pupil for central office and principals’ salaries varied by almost 700% from the highest-spending district to the lowest-spending district. However, districts spending more on administrative salaries did not perform better on measures of student achievement than low-spending districts with comparable students.
Without consolidating districts, Mississippi’s 149 school districts could redirect more than $8 million in administrative salaries and fringe benefits into classroom instruction by limiting administrative salary spending to $225 per pupil for small districts and $200 per pupil for districts with more than 3,500 students. Slightly more could be redirected statewide by combining a cap on administrative salary spending with county-wide consolidation of districts in thirteen counties.
For a paper copy of this report, contact PEER by telephone at 601-359-1226 or by e-mail at reports@peer.ms.gov.