Southern Columbia Area School DistrictBudget & Spending
Catawissa, Columbia County, Pennsylvania NCES 4222260
- Total revenue · FY2024
- $27.4M $27,443,000
- Students enrolled
- 1,207
- Revenue per pupil
- $22,737
- Local share per pupil
- $13,378 60th percentile in PA
Transparency grade C, provisional
Under reviewProvisional grade
Every district starts at a provisional C until its records have been reviewed. This is a starting point, not a finding.
If you work for this district, you can shorten the wait by sending us links to the records you already publish.
NCES F-33 · FY2024
Where the money goes
Operating and capital spending from the federal expenditure survey, rolled up by function.
Aggregate categories only: no individual payees or contracts are shown.
- Instruction
- $13.9M 59.1% of spending
- Administration
- $876K 3.7% of spending
- Per pupil
- $19,566 All functions
- Instruction 59.1%
- Student Transportation 8.6%
- Business & Central Services 8.4%
- Capital Outlay 6.8%
- Student Support Services 3.8%
- Instructional Staff Support 3.5%
- Operations & Maintenance 3.4%
- Food Services 2.7%
- School Administration 2.3%
- General Administration 1.4%
View the numbers as a table
| Function | Amount | Per pupil | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Instruction | $13,946,000 | $11,554 | 59.1% |
| Student Transportation | $2,029,000 | $1,681 | 8.6% |
| Business & Central Services | $1,993,000 | $1,651 | 8.4% |
| Capital Outlay | $1,601,000 | $1,326 | 6.8% |
| Student Support Services | $906,000 | $751 | 3.8% |
| Instructional Staff Support | $815,000 | $675 | 3.5% |
| Operations & Maintenance | $808,000 | $669 | 3.4% |
| Food Services | $642,000 | $532 | 2.7% |
| School Administration | $551,000 | $457 | 2.3% |
| General Administration | $325,000 | $269 | 1.4% |
| Total | $23,616,000 | $19,566 | 100% |
NCES F-33 · FY2005–FY2024
How this has changed
Summary Four points on FY2005 to FY2024
- Operating balance and scale In FY2024 the district reported $27.4M in revenue against $22.0M in current operating spending. It took in $5.4M more than it spent on operations, a margin of 19.8% of revenue. A further $1.6M went to capital outlay, 5.9% of total spending, which is typically financed by borrowing rather than out of revenue. This compares revenue with operating cost only; it is not a fund balance and not an audited result.
- Inflation and real growth Consumer prices rose +60.6% between FY2005 and FY2024. Revenue rose +87.6% and operating spending +81.6% in nominal terms. Revenue outgrew inflation, gaining +16.8% in purchasing power. Operating spending outgrew inflation, gaining +13.1% in purchasing power.
- Enrollment and per-pupil cost Enrollment fell by 225 students, -15.7%. Operating spending per student went from $8,464 to $18,239, +115.5% nominal and +34.2% after inflation.
- Structural takeaway Revenue grew faster than operating spending, by 5.9 percentage points over the period, with real cost per student rising while enrollment fell, so fewer students are carrying a larger real cost base. These figures describe cost, not performance: the F-33 does not say what a district was funded to do, and this site scores what a district publishes rather than how it spends.
Generated from the figures in the table below, not written by hand and not written by a model. Change the years and it recalculates.
| Measure | FY2005 | FY2024 | Change | Nominal % | Real % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total revenue | $14,632,000 | $27,443,000 | +$12,811,000 | +87.6% | +16.8% |
| Total expenditure | $13,591,000 | $27,162,000 | +$13,571,000 | +99.9% | +24.4% |
| Revenue per pupil | $10,218 | $22,737 | +$12,519 | +122.5% | +38.5% |
| Students enrolled | 1,432 | 1,207 | -225 | -15.7% | — |
Percent change from each measure's FY2005 level. Dollar figures are nominal as filed; the real column removes inflation using CPI-U, U.S. city average, all items, annual average (BLS). The dashed line is that same inflation curve, so a dollar line above it gained purchasing power and one below it lost. It does not apply to enrollment. Hover any point for the underlying number.
100-point rubric
What Southern Columbia Area School District needs for an A
-
Public check register
14 ptsEvery disbursement published with payee category, date, amount, and fund, updated at least quarterly.
A check register records where money actually went, rather than where it was budgeted to go.
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Annual financial audit
6 ptsA current Annual Comprehensive Financial Report with the independent auditor opinion attached.
A financial audit confirms the statements are accurately presented. Most states require one, so it is a floor rather than a distinction.
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Performance or efficiency audit
5 ptsAn independent review of whether spending achieved its stated purpose, published within the last three years.
A financial audit asks whether the numbers are right. A performance audit asks whether the money did what it was meant to do, which is the question a taxpayer is usually asking.
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Line-item adopted budget
11 ptsThe adopted budget broken out by function and object code, not a summary presentation.
Function and object detail is what allows classroom and central office spending to be compared.
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Purchasing card transactions
9 ptsPurchasing and credit card transaction detail with merchant category, date, and amount.
Card purchases sit outside the standard purchase-order process, so separate disclosure is what makes them reviewable.
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Payment history by category
9 ptsCumulative payments grouped by spending category, covering at least one full fiscal year.
Category totals show concentration and recurring commitments that individual payments do not.
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Machine-readable data
9 ptsFinancial data offered as CSV, XLSX, JSON, or an open API rather than scanned images.
A scanned PDF is technically public and practically difficult to analyse. Open formats make review possible.
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Compensation schedule
7 ptsCurrent salary schedules and aggregate administrator compensation bands, including stipends.
Payroll is the largest line in most district budgets, so schedule-level disclosure covers the bulk of spending.
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Bond and capital disclosure
7 ptsBond program spending reported against the specific projects voters approved, with remaining balances.
Bond funds are borrowed against future taxes and authorised for a named project list, so reporting against that list closes the loop.
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Board minutes and agendas
7 ptsMinutes and agenda packets posted together with the financial exhibits that were voted on.
The vote and its attachment are what connect a decision to the money it moved.
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Contracts posted
6 ptsExecuted contracts and amendments above the district bid threshold, posted in full.
A payment shows the amount. The contract shows what was promised in return.
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Direct download, no request
6 ptsCore financial records download directly, with no records request, login, or fee.
Publishing a record and releasing it on request are different levels of disclosure.
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Published records process
4 ptsA public records page naming the responsible officer, the statutory timeline, and any fees.
A documented process tells a requester what to expect before they file.
No items have been checked yet. These fill in as each record is located and verified.