LISD’s cost per student comes in above $7,000

Leander ISD spent more than $7,000 per student last year, a number that fluctuates each year in the rapidly growing district.

Officials say that with more than 1,000 new students per year enrolling in the district, budget planning can often be a challenge.

“It’s always challenging when you’re budget planning in a fast-growth district because you know families are coming in and the need for additional resources such as teachers are going to impact your expenses,” said LISD spokesperson Veronica Sopher.

Sopher said 86 percent of the district’s annual budget goes toward personnel costs.

The district currently spends $7,081 per student, according to Superintendent Bret Champion. Enrollment during the 2013-14 school year topped 35,000.

Champion gave a breakdown of the cost at a presentation to the Cedar Park Chamber of Commerce several months ago.

According to Champion, the largest cost for each student — $4,296 — goes toward providing qualified teachers and instructional assistants.

Sopher said on average, the district hires around 200 new teachers every year.

Also included in the cost per student is a per-student total of $273 to provide bus transportation, $513 for building cleaning and maintenance, $209 for electricity, heating and cooling, $95 for security and nursing staff, $249 for curriculum development, $82 for library resources, $313 for counseling services such as college preparation, $402 for principals, assistant principals and other administrative staff, $392 for district-level staff and $257 for extra-curricular programs.

Factors such as rising utility costs can often impact the cost per student, Sopher said.

“That number changes every year,” said Sopher.

“It will never stay the same. One, we’ll have more kids, and two, we’re opening new buildings and hiring new teachers,” she explained.

Utility costs are always changing. It’s not a number that stays the same.”

The newest school in LISD, Reed Elementary, will open next month, and construction is underway on the district’s sixth high school. Construction costs are paid through bond issuances and not the operating budget.

By comparison, the Round Rock ISD spends slightly more than LISD at $7,289 per student. As of September 2013, RRISD had 46,530 students enrolled.