Where does the money go? PPS graduation rates vs. other Portland schools

It's been well established that for the past 15 years or so, per student spending at Portland Public Schools has been higher--and has grown faster--than spending in other Portland area districts.  The most recent data show that PPS spending is almost 20 percent higher per student than in other Portland districts.

In a normal world, one would say, "That's OK, we spend so much more because we do so much more." One thing that PPS definitely is not doing is spending that extra money on improving graduation rates.

That's right, PPS has the second highest spending and the second lowest graduation rate.

An old management guru once said, "Do less, achieve more."  One of the first lessons in financial economics is, "Spending is not investing." Spending money on things like "Courageous Conversations" about peanut butter and jelly sandwiches is money wasted.  Investing is developing a program to educate and graduate students pays off well into the future.

I'm joining the ranks of Portland Public School parents asking, "Where does the money go?"

A friend of ours from the Mt. Tabor Preschool days has joined the growing ranks of parents who have had it with Portland Public Schools misplaced priorities.

She has a simple goal: Provide the number of teachers necessary to offer a full schedule for every student.

At the high school level parents are fed up with an eight-period schedule spread over two days. In some schools--such as Grant High School--the schedule has translated into jam-packed study halls to meet instruction-time requirements. In others, students have 90 minutes free in the middle of the day.

As part of the PPS push for equity over excellence, top students seeking advance classes are told to sign up for study hall or P.E. because the district does not have the resources to teach every kid.

All this raises the question: Where does the money go?

I downloaded the data for every school district in Oregon and put together this table.  In the 2011-12 school year, PPS spent $11,900 per student.  On average, other Portland districts spent $10,100 per student.

That means that PPS spends almost 20 percent more per student than other Portland districts.

Again, where does the money go?