Administrative Efficiency Audit Dashboard
Data: VDOE Superintendent's Annual Report & County Budgets | FY2020-FY2024
Total expenditures grew 24% from FY2020-FY2024 while enrollment grew only 2.8%. This does NOT necessarily indicate inefficiency. Consider:
Key Insight: Using official CPI, expenditure growth (24%) slightly exceeds inflation (19%). Using the Chapwood Index (41%), expenditures have actually fallen behind real-world cost increases. The "true" inflation rate is debated - we show all three measures for transparency.
Lower is better - fewer administrators per student
Higher is better - more students served per administrator
| Division | Enrollment | Per-Pupil $ | Admin Positions | Teachers | Admin/1000 | Students/Admin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frederick County | 14,121 | $15,734 | 24.4 | 1,154 | 1.73 | 579.7 |
| Fauquier County | 10,658 | $16,351 | 32.5 | 943 | 3.05 | 327.9 |
| Warren County | 4,984 | $15,042 | 15.3 | 444 | 3.07 | 325.8 |
| Shenandoah County | 5,495 | $16,081 | 24.5 | 465 | 4.46 | 224.3 |
| Loudoun County | 81,274 | $21,183 | 380.0 | 7,000 | 4.68 | 213.9 |
| Clarke County | 1,885 | $15,165 | 12.4 | 170 | 6.57 | 152.3 |
| Virginia State Avg | - | $17,636 | - | - | - | - |
Frederick County's K-7 pupil-teacher ratio (13.85:1) is 12% higher than the state average (12.37:1). This means elementary classes have approximately 1.5 more students per teacher than the typical Virginia school division. Secondary ratios (8-12) are at the state average.
Lower ratio = smaller class sizes (better for students)
Lower ratio = smaller class sizes (better for students)
| Division | K-7 Ratio | vs State | 8-12 Ratio | vs State |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frederick County | 13.85 | +1.48 | 12.29 | -0.02 |
| Loudoun County | 13.39 | +1.02 | 11.25 | -1.06 |
| Warren County | 12.49 | +0.12 | 10.73 | -1.58 |
| Fauquier County | 11.99 | -0.38 | 11.33 | -0.98 |
| Clarke County | 11.95 | -0.42 | 11.63 | -0.68 |
| Shenandoah County | 11.00 | -1.37 | 14.67 | +2.36 |
| Virginia State Avg | 12.37 | - | 12.31 | - |
Note: Ratios are students per classroom teacher position. Lower = smaller class sizes. K-7 includes grades K through 7th; 8-12 includes grades 8th through 12th.
| Source | Data Used | Years | URL |
|---|---|---|---|
| VDOE Table 8 | Average Daily Membership (ADM), Average Daily Attendance (ADA), attendance rates by division | 2019-20 to 2024-25 | VDOE SAR |
| VDOE Table 15 | Total expenditures, per-pupil spending, funding breakdown (local, state, federal, sales tax) | 2019-20 to 2023-24 | VDOE SAR |
| VDOE Table 17 | Pupil-to-classroom-teacher ratios for K-7 (elementary) and 8-12 (secondary) | 2019-20 to 2023-24 | VDOE SAR |
| VDOE Table 18 | Administrative, technical/clerical, and support staff positions by function (instruction, admin, tech, transportation, operations, facilities) | 2019-20 to 2023-24 | VDOE SAR |
| VDOE Table 19 | Principal, assistant principal, teacher, and aide positions with average salaries | 2019-20 to 2023-24 | VDOE SAR |
| Frederick County Budget | Annual county budget documents showing transfers to school operating, debt, and capital funds | FY2020 to FY2025 | FCVA Budget |
Target: Frederick County Public Schools (Division Code: 069)
Peer Districts: Selected based on geographic proximity and similar characteristics:
"Admin Positions" refers to the "Administrative" column in VDOE Table 18, which includes administrators across all functional areas: Instruction, Administration/Attendance/Health, Technology, Transportation, Operations/Maintenance, and Facilities. This is a narrower definition than "central office staff" and does not include principals (who are in Table 19).
Per VDOE Table 17, this is the ratio of Average Daily Membership (ADM) to classroom teaching positions. Teaching positions include classroom teachers, homebound teachers, media specialists, and technology instructional teachers. K-7 covers elementary grades (Kindergarten through 7th). 8-12 covers secondary grades (8th through 12th). This is NOT the same as actual class size, which may be smaller due to co-teaching, resource teachers, etc.
School fiscal years run July 1 - June 30. "FY2024" or "2023-24" refers to July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024. County fiscal years follow the same convention.
The "US Inflation (CPI)" line shown in the growth chart uses approximate values based on Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index data. The figures used (FY2020=100, FY2021=101.2, FY2022=108.0, FY2023=114.6, FY2024=119.8) are estimates representing roughly 20% cumulative inflation from 2020-2024. For precise figures, consult:
Note: The Chapwood Index typically reports higher inflation rates than official CPI, suggesting actual cost-of-living increases may exceed the ~20% estimate used here. This would make the 24% expenditure growth appear more reasonable relative to true inflation.
All processed data files are available in the project repository:
data/processed/vdoe/table8_enrollment.json - Enrollment datadata/processed/vdoe/table15_expenditures.json - Expenditure datadata/processed/vdoe/table17_ratios.json - Pupil-teacher ratiosdata/processed/vdoe/table18_admin_personnel.json - Admin staff datadata/processed/vdoe/table19_instructional.json - Teacher/principal datadata/processed/county_budget_schools.json - County budget appropriationsdata/analysis/fcps_audit_report.json - Calculated metrics and findings
Original source files (Excel, PDF) are preserved in data/raw/ directories.