First year of Skyline High School cost Ann Arbor school district more than $2.5 million

Overall, the audit showed the district spent $103,986,205 on instruction in the 2008-09 school year. That’s down slightly from the $104,871,699 spent on instruction in the 2007-08 school year.

Students arrive at Skyline High on the day it opened.

File photo

Instructional spending in 2008-09 made up 55.8 percent of the district’s $186.5 million general fund expenditures. In the 2007-08 school year, instructional spending was 55.7 percent of the districts $188.2 million general fund budget.

The district’s audit breaks down its spending by function, including how much was spent on elementary schools, middle schools and high schools.

The only area of those three to see an increase was spending on high schools, which rose from $27,897,286 in 2007-08 to $30,583,937 in 2008-09.

That increase was largely due to Skyline High School, which opened for the first year at the beginning of the 2008-09 school year with freshmen only.

Roberts said the district had to take on the bulk of the additional costs for running the school at the beginning of the year, even though it was only one-fourth full.

He said the hiring pattern at Skyline for new positions wouldn't continue for three more school years until the school is fully staffed. He said, for example, the district hired a band director but won’t hire another one as more students are attending the school.

Roberts also said the bulk of the teaching staff was transfers from other district middle schools and high schools.

As Skyline was being built, district officials estimated the cost of operating the new high school would run around $3.8 million to $4 million per year.

They said the district could afford that by switching a number of projects from its general fund to sinking and bond funds.

Roberts said he still thinks the district is on course to spend about that much on running Skyline, pending any budget cuts.