Frequently Asked Questions
The California School Finance Center How-To Guide is a great resource for learning how to use the site.
Here are answers to questions that are frequently asked regarding this web site.
What is the California School Finance Center?
“The California School Finance Center database compiles publicly available information from a dozen California Department of Education sources to present the most complete picture possible of the state’s public school funding. The database, designed to increase transparency, is a tool for school districts to become more efficient in improving student academic achievement by making it easy for them to identify top performers and by providing the public with accurate comparisons of revenue and achievement.” Guide, p. 2
Who compiled the California School Finance Center?
“The California School Finance Center database is a joint project of the Pacific Research Institute and the Educational Results Partnership with funding and support from California Business for Education Excellence (CBEE)—a non-profit organization whose mission is to raise student academic achievement and close the achievement gap. The database is updated annually as new financial data becomes available.” Guide, p. 2
What does the California School Finance Center provide?
“The database provides:
- Total and per-pupil revenue for more than 960 public school districts. That includes:
- 334 Unified Districts
- 547 Elementary Districts
- 83 High School Districts
- 96 Basic Aid Districts
- 140 Districts with Necessary Small Schools
- Total and per-pupil revenue for more than 350 charter schools.
- Easy-to-read data for student achievement, demographic census, and staff salaries.
- A Return on Investment (ROI) feature that quantifies the relationship between revenue and student achievement.**
- Peer comparison charts to determine what is working in districts and charter schools similar in size, per-pupil revenue amount, and student population.
* Per-pupil revenue is derived by dividing total revenue by the districts average daily attendance (ADA)
** Feature created by Education Results Partnership (ERP)” Guide, p. 2Where does the California School Finance Center data come from?
“All of the data made available on this site, with the exception of the census data, comes from the California Department of Education web site. See our Data Sources page for links to the specific web pages where the data comes from.”If you didn't see the answer to your question, please use our contact form and we'll be glad to answer your question.
