Principally Speaking

Dollars and Cents, Your Attendance Counts

Jason Farrel

At some point in in almost every child’s school career attendance has been a subject of discussion.  Whether discussing perfect attendance awards, sick days, tardies, or skipping class, attendance is a major part of the school process, and it really matters!  
School funding is directly related to student attendance.  It matters not if a child is sick, misses a day due to a family emergency, or just decides to take the day off; if the student is absent, the school district loses money. Let’s take a closer look at how all of this works.  
The state of California funds school districts based on student attendance, also known as Average Daily Attendance (ADA), at school. ADA is calculated by dividing the total number of days of student attendance by the number of days of school taught during the same period.  For Center Joint Unified School District and North Country Elementary the numbers look like this:


1.0 ADA, or a student with perfect attendance (100%) for the year                $8045*
560 students with perfect attendance for the year (560 x 8045)           $4,505,200
0.95** ADA or 95% attendance rate  (560 x $8045 x .95)                   4,279,940
LOST REVENUE <$225,260>
*2009-2010 ADA amounts 
**Estimated attendance rate, equivalent to 9 absences (166/175)


Daily attendance also directly affects Lottery money.  Lottery funds account for approximately 1.5% of all education funding — providing school districts the flexibility to keep valuable programs and services for students (http://www.calottery.com/support/lotteryfunds/)   For the 2009-2010 school year, schools received $129 per pupil.  If we apply the same rates as above:
1.0 ADA = $129
0.95  ADA = $ 122.55


To help put this in perspective, a 95% attendance rate equals a loss of over $3600 of Lottery funds for the year.  Consumable math workbooks, purchased with Lottery money,  for grades K-2 cost our school approximately $12,000 per year!


So what is the big picture?  With the state budget in limbo and the threats of looming cuts to education resulting in approximately $370 less ADA, every day counts!  Keep in mind that this only explains the financial impact of attendance.  Good attendance has a HUGE impact on academic and social success of each and every student.  Please keep all of this information in mind when planning vacations, scheduling appointments and all other possible reasons you may consider taking your child out of school.