FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – August 14th, 2007             

Administrative Salary Growth in Grand Forks Outpacing Teacher Salary Growth

Bismarck, ND – Americans for Prosperity of North Dakota (AFP-North Dakota) released more results of their ongoing study of local government spending in Grand Forks county.  In the newly released material, AFP-North Dakota has condensed North Dakota Department of Public Instruction (DPI) data that details individual salaries for each position in every school district in the state.  Utilizing this data, the following conclusions have been made for the time period for which DPI data is readily available on the internet.

·         Student enrollment Grand Forks School District has declined by 8% in the 4 year period that DPI data is available.

·         Full-time Administrative Positions in Grand Forks School District have increased by 11% in the 4 year period that DPI data is available.

·         Full-time Administrative Cumulative Compensation in Grand Forks School District has increased by 14% over inflation in the 4 year period that DPI data is available.

·         Full-time Teachers Positions in Grand Forks School District have increased by 2% in the 4 year period that DPI data is available.

·         Full-time Teacher Cumulative Compensation in Grand Forks School District has increased by 3% over inflation in the 4 year period that DPI data is available.

“This data shows that in recent years there has been a biased toward more administrative positions and higher administrative pay, while the number of students has been steadily decreasing,” said Duane Sand, State Director of AFP-North Dakota. “Why do fewer students need more administrators to get a quality education?” 

The report also noted that cumulative administrative salaries have increased $400,000 in four years.  Duane Sand continued, “That same amount of money could be used to increase the salaries of each and every teacher in the district by nearly $600.”   

Additionally, recent news reports have claimed that Consultants hired by the district to help find a new superintendent have proposed raising the base salary of the position to $195,000.  This constitutes a proposed increase of 8.3% over the current $180,000 base salary.  The average superintendent in North Dakota has a base salary of $73,000, while a survey reviewed by the board lists the average 2005-06 superintendent salary in a surrounding seven-state plains region at $120,704, according to the Grand Forks Herald.  DPI predicts a 13.6% reduction of student enrollment in Grand Forks by 2015. 

“How much will be cumulative administrative costs increase with fewer and fewer students being educated?” Sand concluded.

On going reports on government spending by the city, county, and school district will be released by AFP-North Dakota between now and October when the final study will be presented to the public.

###