County ranks poorly in school spending, says recent study

Alleghany County received a low ranking for spending on public schools relative to financial resources, according to a recent statewide study.

The Public School Forum of North Carolina, a non-profit organization based in Raleigh, ranked Alleghany 94th out of the state’s 100 counties in its 2004 local school finance study, even though the county was ranked 16th in ability to fund schools. The study is based on data from the 2002-03 school year.

County officials disagreed with the report’s findings and questioned some of the report’s benchmarks, one of which is that Alleghany is a high-wealth county.

The relative effort table listed Alleghany with $4,819 in revenue per ADM (average daily membership of the school system), based on the state’s average property tax rate, with $1,046 in total current spending per ADM. Thus, Alleghany spent 21.7 percent of revenue per student, compared with the state average of 40 percent. Alleghany’s overall school enrollment was listed as 1,460.

According to the report, relative effort compares actual effort and ability to pay. Actual effort includes county appropriations for current expense, and when appropriate, supplemental tax levies for schools. It was noted that low-wealth counties with comparatively high spending levels have tended to rank highest in this measure. In terms of actual effort, the county ranked 44th in the state. The $1,046 in total spending per ADM included $359 in debt service and $625 in capital outlay.

Total current spending was listed at $1,775,055,836, with $1,737,841,240 listed as the 2003 current expense.

In actual effort with supplemental funding, Alleghany ranked 12th, with $1,246,636 in small county funding during 2002-03, with a $862 in change of spending per ADM.

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