Title page
Contents
Foreword 4
Acknowledgments 5
Chapter 1. Survey Planning and Design 13
Overview and Background 13
Recent Department of Education School-Level Finance Data Collections 14
OMB Approval Process, Justification, Goals, and Objectives 14
Consultation With Participating States 15
Sample Design-State Selection Process 16
Burden Estimate 17
Chapter 2. Instrument Development 19
Survey Instrument 19
Data Variables 19
Data Exclusions 21
Chapter 3. Data Submissions and Ability to Report 23
Submission Formats 23
Ability to Report Data and Data Anomalies 24
Chapter 4. Data Editing and Data Quality 26
Data Editing Process 26
Data Item Flags 27
Missing and Nonapplicable Data 27
Chapter 5. Data Review and Analysis 28
Ability to Report Data Items/Data Availability 28
Comparison of the School-Level Finance Survey (SLFS) with Other Data Sources 58
Chapter 6. Factors Supporting and Limiting the SLFS 70
General Considerations in Collecting Finance Data at the School Level 70
Limitations of the SLFS 70
Challenges to the SLFS and Action to Surmount Those Challenges 70
Factors Supporting Adoption of the SLFS 71
Chapter 7. Conclusion 72
References and Related Data Files 74
Appendix A-Survey Form and Fiscal Data Plan 75
Appendix B-Glossary 82
Appendix C-Fiscal Data Plan Responses 90
Appendix D-State Notes 97
Appendix E-Additional Tables for Expenditures With Exclusions 103
Table 1. Number of operating public elementary and secondary schools and item response rates for personnel expenditures, by data item and participating state: Fiscal year 2014 31
Table 2. Number of operating public elementary and secondary schools and item response rates for nonpersonnel expenditures, by data item and participating state: Fiscal year 2014 31
Table 3. Number of operating public elementary and secondary schools and item response rates for expenditures, by category of data items and participating state: Fiscal year 2014 33
Table 4. Number of operating public elementary and secondary schools and item response rates for nonpersonnel expenditures, by category of data items and participating state: Fiscal year 2014 34
Table 5. Number and percent of schools that reported fiscal data in the School-Level Finance Survey (SLFS), by school type and participating state: Fiscal year 2014 36
Table 6. Number of schools and item response rates for expenditures, by school type, category of data items, and participating state: Fiscal year 2014 38
Table 7. Number of schools and item response rates for nonpersonnel expenditures, by school type, category of data items, and participating state: Fiscal year 2014 40
Table 8. Number and percent of schools that reported fiscal data in the School-Level Finance Survey (SLFS), by school urbanicity and participating state: Fiscal year 2014 42
Table 9. Number of schools and item response rates for expenditures, by school urbanicity, category of data items, and participating state: Fiscal year 2014 44
Table 10. Number of schools and item response rates for nonpersonnel expenditures, by school urbanicity, category of data items, and participating state: Fiscal year 2014 45
Table 11. Number and percent of schools that reported fiscal data in the School-Level Finance Survey (SLFS), by school size and participating state: Fiscal year 2014 47
Table 12. Number of schools and item response rates for expenditures, by school size, category of data items, and participating state: Fiscal year 2014 49
Table 13. Number of schools and item response rates for nonpersonnel expenditures, by school size, category of data items, and participating state: Fiscal year 2014 50
Table 14. Number and percent of schools that reported fiscal data in the School-Level Finance Survey (SLFS), by local education agency (LEA) size and participating state: Fiscal year 2014 52
Table 15. Number of schools and item response rates for expenditures, by local education agency (LEA) size, category of data items, and participating state: Fiscal year 2014 53
Table 16. Number of schools and item response rates for nonpersonnel expenditures, by local education agency (LEA) size, category of data items, and participating state: Fiscal year 2014 54
Table 17. Number and percent of schools that reported fiscal data in the School-Level Finance Survey (SLFS), by school charter status and participating state: Fiscal year 2014 55
Table 18. Number of schools and item response rates for expenditures, by school charter status, category of data items, and participating state: Fiscal year 2014 56
Table 19. Number of schools and item response rates for nonpersonnel expenditures, by school charter status, category of data items, and participating state: Fiscal year 2014 57
Table 20. Median percentage difference of select expenditures for local education agencies (LEAs) between School-Level Finance Survey (SLFS) and School District Finance Survey (F-33), by data item and participating state: Fiscal year 2014 59
Table 21. Total personnel salaries for local education agencies (LEAs) between School-Level Finance Survey (SLFS) and School District Finance Survey (F-33), by participating state: Fiscal year 2014 61
Table 22. Select expenditures reported in School-Level Finance Survey (SLFS) and National Public Education Financial Survey (NPEFS) and percentage difference between the surveys, by data item and participating state: Fiscal year 2014 62
Table 23. Median percentage difference of select expenditures between School-Level Finance Survey (SLFS) and Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC), by data item and participating state: Fiscal year 2014 66
Table 24. Select expenditures reported in School-Level Finance Survey (SLFS) and Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) and percentage difference between the surveys, by data item and participating state: Fiscal year 2014 67
Table 25. Mean teacher salary in School-Level Finance Survey (SLFS), average teacher salary in the National Education Association (NEA) survey, and percentage difference between the surveys, by participating state: Fiscal year 2014 69
Exhibits
Exhibit 1. Data items included in the School-Level Finance Survey (SLFS): Fiscal year 2014 22
Exhibit 2. Number and percent of Local Education Agencies (LEAs) and schools that reported fiscal data in the School-Level Finance Survey (SLFS), by participating state: Fiscal year 2014 29
Exhibit 3. Comparison of key differences between the School-Level Finance Survey (SLFS) and school finance items collected in the Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC): Fiscal year 2014 65
Table C-1. Fiscal data plan responses to questions 1 and 2, by state: Fiscal year 2014 91
Table C-2. Fiscal data plan responses to questions 3 and 4, by state: Fiscal Year 2014 92
Table C-3. Fiscal data plan responses to question 5, by state: Fiscal Year 2014 93
Table C-4. Fiscal data plan responses to questions 6 and 7, by state: Fiscal Year 2014 94
Table C-5. Fiscal data plan responses to questions 8 and 9, by state: Fiscal Year 2014 96
Table E-1. Number of operating public elementary and secondary schools and item response rates for personnel expenditures with exclusions, by data item and participating state: Fiscal year 2014 104
Table E-2. Number of operating public elementary and secondary schools and item response rates for nonpersonnel expenditures with exclusions, by data item and participating state: Fiscal year 2014 105
Table E-3. Number of schools and item response rates for expenditures with exclusions, by school type, category of data items, and participating state: Fiscal year 2014 106
Table E-4. Number of schools and item response rates for nonpersonnel expenditures with exclusions, by school type, category of data items, and participating state: Fiscal year 2014 107
Table E-5. Number of schools and item response rates for expenditures with exclusions, by school urbanicity, category of data items, and participating state: Fiscal year 2014 108
Table E-6. Number of schools and item response rates for nonpersonnel expenditures with exclusions, by school urbanicity, category of data items, and participating state: Fiscal year 2014 109
Table E-7. Number of schools and item response rates for expenditures with exclusions, by school size, category of data items, and participating state: Fiscal year 2014 110
Table E-8. Number of schools and item response rates for nonpersonnel expenditures with exclusions, by school size, category of data items, and participating state: Fiscal year 2014 111
Table E-9. Number of schools and item response rates for expenditures with exclusions, by local education agency (LEA) size, category of data items, and participating state: Fiscal year 2014 112
Table E-10. Number of schools and item response rates for nonpersonnel expenditures with exclusions, by local education agency (LEA) size, category of data items, and participating state: Fiscal year 2014 113
Table E-11. Number of schools and item response rates for expenditures with exclusions, by school charter status, category of data items, and participating state: Fiscal year 2014 114
Table E-12. Number of schools and item response rates for nonpersonnel expenditures with exclusions, by school charter status, category of data items, and participating state: Fiscal year 2014 115