ATLANTA — Atlanta Public Schools will get at least one new school board member, with a second seat headed to a runoff after Tuesday’s school board election.
APS is uniquely urban and uniquely costly. Budgeting and enrollment data show Atlanta spends about $32,000 per student yearly.
Compare that with DeKalb County Schools at about $20,000 and Fulton County Schools at $18,888.
The costs were calculated by dividing the annual budget by the number of school children enrolled.
Gwinnett, Cobb and Clayton are spending half or less per student than the amount Atlanta is spending.
- Gwinnett County Schools: $16,612
- Cobb County Schools: $13,660
- Clayton County Schools: $12,349
Atlanta Public Schools face distinctive challenges. City schools have historically handled a greater share of students with lower-income families with less stability than higher-income areas.
"We need to be honest that it’s expensive to educate kids who come from generations of neglect," said Ken Zeff, elected Tuesday to a seat on the APS board. "So the challenge for Atlanta Public Schools is to make sure those resources are making it to the students."
Atlanta’s cost to taxpayers per student becomes even more eye-opening compared to student tuition at some prestigious private schools just a few miles away.
- Marist School's website lists tuition at $24,180.
- Greater Atlanta Christian School in Norcross lists $28,700 for grades six through 12
- Woodward Academy in College Park lists $32,400 for grades seven through 12
Zeff said APS spends too little of its taxpayer money in the classroom.
"Our central office has been growing twenty percent a year. Those resources need to be spent at our students, on our teachers, for environments in schools that are supportive of learning – not in a distant central office," Zeff said.
Zeff explained APS’s biggest immediate priority is to fill the current vacancy in the superintendent’s office.