Missouri is Spending Less on Instruction

Posted on by Avery Frank

When considering the costs of running a school, we may think of items like teacher salaries, classroom technology, textbooks, and tutoring services. It seems natural to assume that instructional expenses would dominate school budgets. However, statewide trends over the past decade reveal an interesting story. Instructional costs have been decreasing as a proportion of overall spending, while expenditures on student support and non-instructional services have steadily risen. In fact, student support services are now on the verge of overtaking instructional costs in Missouri.

Classifying Missouri Public School Spending

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) classifies spending as:

  • Instructional
  • Student support
  • Non-instructional/student support

Instructional costs include salaries and benefits for teachers, aides, and specialists. It also covers instructional materials (paper, microscopes, software, paint brushes, sports gear, etc.), professional development, and standardized testing materials.

Student support services cover (but are not limited to) salaries and benefits for counselors, psychologists, social workers, nurses, behavioral specialists, and college-preparatory specialists. It also covers costs for mental health services, plus behavior and outreach programs. Administrative, transportation, and food service costs are also classified under this category.

Non-instructional/student support costs in Missouri cover a wide variety of services, such as early childhood instruction, afterschool programs, adult education, and purchases with bonds.

The figures below show how costs have shifted in Missouri over the last decade, as well as changes in staff numbers.

Figure 1: Share of Total Expenditures in Missouri Public Schools by Type, 2013–2023

Figure 2: Number of Missouri Public School Students and Teachers

Figure 3: Total Number of Staff: Student Support Services

Source: Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE)

The 2018–19 school year marked the first large decrease in the share of instructional costs in total expenditures, and it has decreased further since then. If the trend continues, spending on student support services in Missouri may soon surpass instructional spending.

Figure 1 is even more fascinating when considering that the total number of teachers has continued to rise in Missouri, with student enrollment decreasing in the same time period. Even with 26,000 fewer students than in 2012–13, there are around 4,000 more Missouri teachers and 2,000 more student support staff (as of 2022–2023, the most recent data).

The trends emerging from Missouri’s public school spending raise important questions about financial priorities and the need for increased educational transparency. Are funds being used to improve classroom instruction and foster better learning environments? Once DESE releases financial data for the 2023-2024 school year, it will be interesting to see whether this downward trend continues.

How Much Does My School District Spend?

Posted on by James V. Shuls

As a resident of the Wentzville School District, I recently received a copy of the district’s 2023–24 annual report. The well-designed, 16-page document highlights the district’s growing work-related pathways, new construction projects, expanded early childhood programs, and academic performance. The report also contains a two-page spread on the district’s finances and spending. The report declares the district’s property tax rate “remains the lowest it has been in more than 10 years.” It also explains where the district is spending money, with 84% of operating funds being spent on salaries and benefits.

There is one key piece of information left out of the report—how much the district actually spends. The report tells residents the district spends $1,718 less per pupil than the state average on operating expenses, but it does not tell us that amount.

While it is understandable for organizations to want to put their best foot forward, this lack of transparency is a real problem. Taxpayers should know how much their schools are spending. Unfortunately, districts and the state make this information hard to find.

That is why the Show-Me Institute created MOSchoolRankings. In addition to having detailed academic data, the site provides detailed financial records for every school district in the state. In 2023, Wentzville spent $15,759 per pupil in total expenditures. That means roughly $390,000 is being spent on a classroom of 25 students. Want to know exactly where those dollars are being spent? The website breaks these expenditures down by program, providing the most granular level of analysis in the state.

The annual reports sent by districts are not meant to be a detailed accounting of performance and spending. They are promotional materials designed to paint the district in a positive light. There is nothing wrong with that—organizations should share their successes. Taxpayers who want more information, however, should have access to it.

SLPS and MoSchoolRankings

Posted on by Avery Frank

With ongoing reports about St. Louis Public Schools’s (SLPS) finances, I was interested to learn that SLPS had created nine new administrator positions. Below are just a few examples:

  • “Deputy Superintendent”
    • Salary: $230,000
  • “Researcher of Best Practices to Advise”
    • Salary: $49,250 for work between November and February
  • “Lean Business Management Practices and Flow Analysis”
    • Salary: $49,000
  • “Cabinet Team Support”
    • Salary: $49,400
  • “Performance Management Oversight”
    • Salary: $69,430

These funds could have been used on a number of (I’d argue) more useful items, such as supplying instructional materials to students or hiring tutors. This raises larger questions: how are Missouri districts spending their money, and where can taxpayers find that out?

My colleagues, James Shuls and Susan Pendergrass, have both lamented the difficulty of using state resources to evaluate districts spending and performance. The weakness of Missouri’s Sunshine Law also allows districts to skirt citizens’ requests for information by charging exorbitant prices.

With this dearth of available information, it is difficult for people to know how money is being spent. To meet this need, the Show-Me Institute annually updates MoSchoolRankings.org, which provides an in-depth look at the educational performance and financials of school districts and charters.

Using MoSchoolRankings

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) posts each district’s Annual Secretary of the Board Report on its website. These financial reports are compiled and are the source for MoSchoolRankings.

Individuals can either search for districts or find them on an interactive map. The data include, but are not limited to, math proficiency, ACT scores, enrollment, revenues, locale, website, phone number, demographics, average teacher salary, expenditures per student, and a ranking system for all districts.

With multiple years available, individuals can use MoSchoolRankings as a springboard for further research. For example, consider the below table created from data on MoSchoolRankings.

St. Louis Public Schools 2021–2022 2022–2023
Care and Upkeep of Building Services $22.6 million $47 million
Board of Education Services $2.3 million $8.8 million

 

Noticing the large changes in spending in just one year, an individual could highlight these categories and look further into the exact spending (such as receipts for which goods and services were purchased).

The image below displays how the website looks in practice, using the North Kansas City 74 School District as an example.

MoSchoolRankings.org will remain essential for shedding light on our state’s student performance and district finances. However, Missouri still needs to improve the accuracy and accessibility of state reporting in order to allow parents to hold districts accountable. Increased transparency could help ensure that school districts prioritize spending on classroom instruction and student success.

Platte County Children’s Services Fund Tax

Posted on by David Stokes

A version of the following letter was published in the Kansas City Star.

On November 5, voters in Platte County will decide on a new “children’s services fund” tax. The proposed quarter-cent sales tax will fund mental health services for children. We all want to help kids, right? It may at first glance seem to be an easy choice, but Platte County citizens should think twice before supporting this new tax.

Politicizing charity is a dangerous road to go down. So is creating another, obscure taxing district with little oversight. The established children’s services fund in Lafayette County provides a useful case study for those problems. The fund had operated for years with almost no oversight. Those operating it routinely engaged in improper activities, including funding charities that were affiliated with board members and funding a private business that wasn’t a nonprofit. After a whistleblower called attention to these problems, the state auditor investigated and referred the fund to authorities.

If voters pass this tax and create this fund, will some kids benefit? Of course. But entangling philanthropy with politics, creating a new taxing agency with limited oversight, and making charities dependent on government are not the best ways to go about helping kids in Platte County.

Free Market Policies for Better Local Government with David Stokes

Posted on by David Stokes

In this episode, James V. Shuls speaks with David Stokes, Director of Municipal Policy at the Show-Me Institute, about his recent report, A Free-Market Guide for Missouri Municipalities. They discuss the benefits of applying free-market principles to local governance.

Read the full report here.

Listen on Apple Podcasts 

Listen on SoundCloud

Produced by Show-Me Opportunity

One Way Missouri Could Keep Its Energy Grid Reliable

Posted on by Avery Frank

In my previous post, I discussed how the shuttering of coal energy in Missouri could create problems with energy prices and reliability. In this post, I will discuss a potential solution to the reliability problem.

What does a reliable electric grid even mean?

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission defines grid reliability as:

“The provision of an adequate, secure, and stable flow of electricity as consumers may need it. In other words, when you flip the light switch, the lights turn on. The grid remains functional even during unanticipated but common system disturbances.”

Essentially, there needs to be a sufficient and secure amount of dispatchable power plants supplying electricity to consumers. Dispatchability is an energy source’s ability to be “dispatched” to the grid’s consumers whenever they need it. Intermittent energy sources, like wind and solar, are not dispatchable, as they are not continuously available for consumers when they need it.

Missouri’s retiring coal plants are consistent and dispatchable, and to maintain grid reliability, they should simply be replaced with similar plants—such as nuclear or natural gas.

But what about battery storage for intermittent sources?

The presence of energy storage does not make wind and solar any less intermittent. They are still intermittent, but it’s possible battery storage could help alleviate this problem.

Globally, battery storage is rapidly rising, and costs are decreasing. These trends should bolster the effectiveness of renewables—but the sheer amount of energy the United States uses is daunting. The Mackinac Center notes that the United States is set to add 191.6 gigawatt hours of battery backup systems between 2022 and 2026. This is a ton of storage. However, in 2021, the United States used 4,116,000 gigawatt hours of electricity in 2021 alone. Per calculations from the energy analysis group Doomberg, that nets out to 24 additional minutes of battery backup storage added over that five-year period.

Additionally, the International Energy Agency noted the difficulty of providing the materials for a mass battery and renewable expansion at scale. Compared to total mineral demand in 2020, it projects a need for six times as many total minerals for a “net-zero by 2050” scenario.

What’s a policy that could help boost grid reliability?

Last session, House Bill (HB) 1753 passed through the Missouri House but failed to make it to the floor in the Senate. This bill outlined that, prior to the closure of an existing power plant, there must be:

  • A new “replacement” power plant secured and placed on the electric grid (which can be in another state) with an equal or greater amount of “reliable electric generation”
  • “Adequate” transmission lines in place and ready to operate immediately or shortly after a plant is taken offline (depending on the interconnectedness of the plant being shut down).

The retirements of functioning power plants should not be done in haste. HB 1753 would have helped pump the brakes on an energy transition that seems to be barreling out of control. Even if you believe that renewables should be the primary energy source, there should be a highly dispatchable and reliable source backing them up.

Commissioner Mark Christie of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) noted:

I think the United States is heading for a very catastrophic situation in terms of reliability. . . .The core of the problem is actually very simple. We are retiring dispatchable generating resources at a pace and in an amount that is far too fast and far too great, and it is threatening our ability to keep the lights on. The problem is not the addition of wind and solar and other renewable resources. The problem is the subtraction of dispatchable resources such as coal and gas. . . . A nameplate megawatt of wind or solar is simply not equal in terms of capacity value to a nameplate megawatt of coal or gas or nuclear.

Renewable construction is good—it can bring development and diversity to the generation portfolio—but dispatchability needs to be emphasized, and an intermittent source should not be our backbone. We do not need to make the transition away from coal more convoluted than it is. HB 1753 would have protected energy reliability for Missourians. This policy should be given stronger consideration in the 2025 legislative session.

Ameren to Shut Down Rush Island

Posted on by Avery Frank

The coal-powered Rush Island Energy Center in Jefferson County will be shut down on October 15. The 1,178-megawatt energy center has been operating since 1976 and can power nearly one million homes. Rush Island was originally slated to operate through at least 2039, but the plant was found to be in violation of the Clean Air Act by a federal court more than a decade ago. Ameren was given the choice of installing pollution control mechanisms (scrubbers) or shutting the plant down, and decided to close Rush Island.

Rush Island is not the first coal plant to be shuttered, and it will not be the last. At the end of 2022, the 827-megawatt Meramec Power Plant was shut down, and according to Ameren, it plans to phase coal out completely by 2045.

Below is a summary of Ameren’s 2023 Integrated Resource Plan:

Note: “Other Zero Carbon” is expected to include a combination of renewables, energy storage, nuclear energy, and new technologies.

The continued shuttering of reliable coal plants presents concerns for energy reliability and affordability.

Is there reason to be concerned with affordability?

North Carolina is another state on the path of shutting down all coal plants and inserting renewables largely in their place. In response to these state plans, the John Locke Foundation and Center of the American Experiment released an in-depth analysis of the state’s proposed paths forward. The analysis finds that North Carolina’s proposed plan would cost more than a more nuclear-focused one. This is largely attributed to the “build and rebuild” treadmill that wind and solar assets need due to their short lifespan (roughly 20 years), whereas nuclear plans have a lifespan of 80 years (and maybe more).

Utilities, like Ameren, are allowed to charge enough for electricity to cover the cost of providing the service to everyone in their territory, plus a government-approved profit, often set at 5–-10 percent, on their capital investments. As long as the expenses are approved by the regulator in their state, utilities make a profit on every dollar they spend on new builds such as wind turbines, solar panels, natural gas plants, or even renovating corporate offices. The more money utilities spend, the more money they make.

A Missouri-specific study of Ameren’s energy plans could be beneficial to future policy research. Nevertheless, there is some reason to be skeptical of the affordability of such a massive energy transition and continued research will be needed as technology changes.

What concerns are there with reliability?

Some sources of energy are more reliable than others, and there are numerous ways to measure this: accredited capacity, unforced capacity (UCAP), or capacity value. All three measure the general reliability value to the grid. The figure below displays capacity values for the two main regional energy organizations in Missouri—Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) and Southwest Power Pool (SPP):

Solar and wind, which are projected to replace much of the energy that retiring coal plants have produced, are intermittent and do not provide consistent streams of electricity, nor are they available at all times of day (although battery storage is improving). As shown in the table above, MISO rates the reliability of solar and wind far lower than coal and other replacement options. Relying so heavily on them may be dangerous.

There is also the task of building out a vast amount of advanced transmission infrastructure. The New York Times reports: “Already, a lack of transmission capacity means that thousands of proposed wind and solar projects are facing multiyear delays and rising costs to connect to the grid.” We should not bank on the ability to break this trend.

Will Ameren be able to replace 66% of its current generation while also meeting the needs of rapidly rising electricity demand? There is reason for concern. In my next post, I will discuss one policy that could help maintain and strengthen the reliability of our grid.

*Note: This post was updated on October 23 to more accurately reflect the circumstances of Rush Island’s closure.

Be Skeptical of Claims St. Louis is Running A Surplus

Posted on by Patrick Tuohey

KMOV ran a piece the other day reporting that the St. Louis comptroller claims the city has a $42.2 million surplus.

I’m skeptical, and you should be too.

This is a claim that cities and states like because it makes their leaders look financially responsible. But it’s often just a result of bookkeeping sleight of hand. Governor Mike Parson made the same claim in January, and it wasn’t true then, either.

The accounting trick consists of merely looking at the cash you have on hand and not considering your long term-debts. Truth in Accounting (TIA), the indefatigable men and women who pore through annual reports, issued its State of the Cities report in February 2024. St. Louis ranked 64th in financial health out of the top 75 cities examined. The authors wrote:

St. Louis’ financial condition appeared to improve due in part to increased tax collections and federal COVID relief funds. Despite the good news, it still had a Taxpayer Burden™ of $11,100, earning it a “D” grade from Truth in Accounting. But the improvement is deceiving, because the city used outdated pension data.

On pages 150 and 151 of the report, available online here, TIA lists St. Louis’s assets and liabilities. The report must use 2022 data because St. Louis is not a stickler about releasing its financial data in a timely manner. Despite being in the red, St. Louis’s cash-basis accounting allows it to consider the money it has on hand without considering its long-term debts. It’s akin to getting a cash advance on your credit card and pretending you’re richer as a result.

If the comptroller wants to make such claims, she should release a complete and to-date copy of the city’s books. Until then, I am going to assume that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

The good news is that we here at the Show-Me Institute, and the fine folks at Truth In Accounting, are dedicated to making sure people understand the truth about city and state finances.

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