ASBO New York Partner Forecast5 Presents Monthly 5Sight Tip

Using 5Sight to visualize and compare special education spending between districts

This tip shows how 5Sight lets users easily visualize and compare annual changes in spending on special education between school districts.

The comparison group for this tip was created through the peer finder tool. The peer finder lets users choose between many variables to identify comparable groups of school districts. For the comparison in this tip, school districts were selected based on student eligibility for free and reduced-price lunch and enrollment size.

The graph below shows the percent of school district total operating expense that budget code 2250 (Program for students with disabilities school age - school year). The school districts, which have similar enrollment and FRPL eligibility rates, encounter significantly different expenses for special educaiton. At one end, 2280 spending accounts for 11 percent of total operating expenses. At the other end, this spending accounts for nearly twice the share of total operating expenses.

This chart was created through the area spending comparison tool, which is available under Analytics > Financial.

We can also use this tool to look at changes over time. The below graph looks at the same measurement from a decade prior. The districts are presented in the same order as in the first graph. While they general pattern from the first graph is present in the second one, the data do vary somewhat. The overall average fell slightly from 14.62 percent to 14.09 percent.

By combining powerful public sector business intelligence software with ready-to-use analytics tools, 5Sight generates detailed and data-driven perspectives on organizational and peer performance to accelerate insights and put decisions on the fast track. For more information about 5Sight visit here or email Michael Vespi at vespi@forecast5analytics.com.