The ongoing debate over the financial challenges facing the Leon County school system coupled with declining student enrollment raises serious policy questions about government efficiency, public school mission, and spending priorities. In an attempt to provide some clarity to the debate, TR has begun to dig into the budgets of the Leon County School District and other comparable districts. The hope is that this information will inform citizens, parents and decision makers about an issue that has immeasurable impact on the community. The Trends Board member Alva Smith has argued for months that declining student enrollment has resulted in some schools operating below 70% capacity. The chart below shows that over the last seven years Leon County School spending has increased approximately $41.7 million, a 14.4% increase, while the number of students has declined from 33,391 to 29,990. During this period, average Leon County School teacher salaries have fallen from ranked 41st in the state to 59th. Smith has argued that to address the fall in teacher salaries relative to other school districts, closing schools should be an option. Others have argued that the mission of the school district is not to be efficient, but to serve students equally throughout the district. The next question – how have spending priorities changed over the last seven years in Leon County resulting in teacher salaries losing ground to other districts. ...read more read less