The School Staffing Surge: Decades of Employment Growth in America's Public Schools. Part II
Author: Scafidi, Benjamin
Date: 2013-02-00
Type: Reports - Evaluative
Subjects: National Competency Tests,School Personnel,Public Schools,Public Education,Elementary Secondary Education,Full Time Equivalency,Teacher Salaries,Academic Achievement,Personnel Selection,Teaching (Occupation),Teachers,Educational Quality,Federal Legislation,School Statistics,Resource Staff,Educational Legislation,Paraprofessional School Personnel,Educational Finance,Administrative Organization,Staff Role,Educational Change,Disabilities,School Choice,Special Needs Students

America's K-12 public education system has experienced tremendous historical growth in employment, according to the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics. Between fiscal year (FY) 1950 and FY 2009, the number of K-12 public school students in the United States increased by 96 percent, while the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) school employees grew 386 percent. Public schools grew staffing at a rate four times faster than the increase in students over that time period. Of those personnel, teachers' numbers increased 252 percent, while administrators and other non-teaching staff experienced growth of 702 percent, more than seven times the increase in students. That hiring pattern has persisted in more recent years as well. Between FY 1992 and FY 2009, the number of K-12 public school students nationwide grew 17 percent, while the number of FTE school employees increased 39 percent. Among school personnel, teachers' staffing numbers rose 32 percent, while administrators and other non-teaching staff experienced growth of 46 percent, 2.3 times greater than the increase in students over that 18-year period; the growth in the number of teachers was almost twice that of students. The two aforementioned figures come from &quot;The School Staffing Surge: Decades of Employment Growth in America's Public Schools.&quot; This companion report contains more state-specific information about public school staffing. Specifically, this report contains: (1) Each state's percentage change among students and administrators and other non-teaching personnel from FY 1992 to FY 2009 (Table 1); (2) The actual and &quot;extra&quot; number of administrators and non-teaching staff in each state. &quot;Extra&quot; is defined as the excess non-teaching staff hired beyond the rate of change in each state's student population over the past generation, FY 1992 to FY 2009 (Table 2); (3) Each state's cost savings if the increase/decrease in administrators and other non-teaching staff had been the same as the increase/decrease in students from FY 1992 to FY 2009 (Table 3); (4) Each state's cost savings per 25 students if the increase/decrease in administrators and other nonteaching staff had been the same as the increase/decrease in students from FY 1992 to FY 2009 (Table 4); (5) The increase in teacher salaries that would be possible if the change in employment in non-teaching personnel had not exceeded the change in the student population from FY 1992 to FY 2009 (Table 5); (6) Each state's ratio of students to non-teaching staff in FY 2009 (Table 6); (7) A comparison of the ratio of students to non-teaching staff and the ratio of students to teachers in each state in FY 2009 (Table 7). The 21 &quot;Top-Heavy States&quot; that employ fewer teachers than other non-teaching personnel are highlighted in Table 7; (8) For the 21 &quot;Top-Heavy States,&quot; the difference between the number of other staff and teachers in FY 2009 (Table 8); and (9) The actual ratio of students to all public school employees in FY 2009 (Table 9). This report also contains a response to criticisms of the 2012 report. It is worth noting that the critics do not dispute that Long-Term Trend scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) have remained the same or have fallen since 1992 and employment growth has surged in America's public schools. (Contains 9 tables and 19 notes.) [For related report, &quot;The School Staffing Surge: Decades of Employment Growth in America's Public Schools,&quot; see ED536674.]