Statistical Profile
The Statistical Profile Online - Data for multiple years contained in one application, including most recent data. The profile provides data on public school pupils, personnel, and finances. A collection of statistical information about North Carolina's elementary and secondary schools.
LEA Per Pupil Expense (PPE) for FY22-23
The Per Pupil Expenses have been loaded in the North Carolina Public Schools Statistical Profile Website.
The following PPE information can be located under the Financial Information Section:
- Table 23 - comparison of Per Pupil Expenditures Current Expense Expenditures Only,
- Table 24 - Per Pupil Expenditure Ranking (Child Nutrition Included) and
- Table 25 - Per Pupil Expenditure Ranking (Child Nutrition Excluded)
Please be aware there is an anomaly in our per pupil expenditure report that is causing an issue for some LEAs related to the comparison between per pupil expenditure data with and without child nutrition included. DPI is aware of the issue and is investigating a solution. Please keep this mind when using these data in budget planning.
Archived Documents - The State Library of North Carolina has digitized the Statistical Profile from 1975 to 2009, and it is now freely available in their Digital Collections.
1975-1990: Statistical profile, North Carolina public schools
1991-1997: North Carolina public schools statistical profile
1998-2009: Statistical profile, public schools of North Carolina
The following is a summary of key information, which may be helpful when looking and referencing per-pupil expenditure data from the Statistical Profile as produced by the Department of Public Instruction.
Student (Pupil) Accounting - NC uses the final Average Daily Membership (ADM) figure as our base for calculating per-pupil information. The National average uses the Average Daily Attendance (ADA) figure as their base. The ADA figure typically will be lower than an ADM figure; thus the National per-pupil figures may be higher as a result.
Financial Information - This section gives an overview of the financial data collected for the profile. The basic premise for per-pupil data is that those funds that can be directly attributed to the ADM (or K-12 population) are included. All other revenue and expenditure data is excluded. For example, the categories for Adult Education (7300) and for Community Services (7100) are not included in the per-pupil calculations since they do not tie directly to the K-12 student population. It should also be noted that items for Pre-K programs such as Smart Start, Head Start, and Federal funds, which target Pre-K, are also excluded when they can be identified.
School (Child) Nutrition Factor - There are 2 per-pupil calculations presented in the profile, one including Child Nutrition funds and one excluding Child Nutrition funds. It should be noted, especially when looking at local per-pupil data, that the figures with Child Nutrition funding may create a wider gap between a "wealthy" system and a "low-wealth" system. The reason is that in a wealthy system you have fewer children who would qualify for federal reimbursement (free & reduced lunch count) of Child Nutrition funds. Child Nutrition funds are accounted for under local funds for those children not being reimbursed with federal dollars; however, in a county which has a larger number of children who qualify for reimbursement, the child nutrition dollars are accounted for under federal funds. Thus, you have a larger gap between systems in the local per-pupil area. It should also be noted that local data includes a variety of local revenue sources, and is not exclusive to funds contributed by the local county commissioners.
Position Allotment Factor - NC's funding for teaching positions is a position-based allotment and not just dollar-driven. This is unique among the states. As such if you have a less experienced (younger) teacher population in an area such as Wake County, their actual dollars spent on teaching positions will be lower than an area with a more experienced teacher population. They would both receive the same number of teaching positions per ADM; however, the overall effect on per-pupil figures would vary since actual dollars expended for those same number of teaching positions would be different.
The above are just a few of the factors to consider when using the per-pupil figures found in the Statistical Profile. If you have further questions, concerns, or need additional clarification, please contact School Business at 919-807-3700.