Archive for November 14th, 2011
14
How Does Montgomery Compare to Surrounding Counties?
Comments off · Posted by admin in Uncategorized
Ever wonder how Montgomery County stacks up against other local jurisdictions in taxes and spending? MCTL member Gordon Brenne wondered about that too and has put together the following table to show how our county compares to Fairfax (VA), Howard and Prince Georges Counties.
One of several interesting facts to note is what we're getting for the $2.2 billion we pour into the public schools each year. We see that Fairfax has 20% (30,000) more students and 40% (4000) more teachers but at a per-pupil cost 8% lower than ours. How do they do it? Because they pay their teachers 14% less on average than in Montgomery. Do those lower salaries west of the Potomac result in an education inferior to what our students get? Well, the average SAT score for Montgomery is 1653 while in Fairfax it is 1664.
Draw your own conclusions. And read the editorial the Washington Post of November 16, 2011.
How Montgomery County Compares to Fairfax (VA), Howard and Prince Georges Counties:
|
Function |
Montg |
Fairfax |
Howard |
PG |
Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
General County |
$4.6Bil |
$6.1Bil |
$1.4Bil |
$3.2Bil |
FY12, All |
|
Population (000s) |
971 |
1,081 |
289 |
835 |
Year 2010 |
|
Median Household |
$89 |
$103 |
$101 |
$69 |
Year 2010 |
|
Assessed Real Property (billions) |
$167 |
$230 |
$49 |
$71 |
Residential (78%) & commercial FY2010 |
|
Job in county (000s) |
446 |
573 |
148 |
298 |
Bur. Of Labor Stats., 1Q 2011 |
|
Serious crime (000s) |
30.2 |
19.3 |
9.7 |
47 |
FBI top 7 crime incidents 2009 |
|
Teen pregnancy |
20 |
11 |
13 |
38 |
Per 100 females age 15-19 |
|
Commute time (mins.) |
33 |
31 |
33 |
36 |
|
|
Total government employees (000s) |
29.9 |
34.5 |
11.1 |
15.5 |
Full-time equivalents |
|
General overhead (mils.) |
$107 |
$73 |
$50 |
$105 |
Executive, legislative & back office |
|
Average taxes per resident (000s) |
$3.1 |
$2.9 |
$2.9 |
$1.7 |
Property, income, transfer, other |
|
Charges for government services (mils.) |
$319 |
$656 |
$111 |
$34 |
|
|
K-12 Education (mils.) |
$2,200 |
$2,200 |
$681 |
$1,600 |
FY2012 operating budget |
|
Students (000s) |
147 |
177 |
50 |
125 |
|
|
Average SAT score |
1653 |
1664 |
1639 |
1296 |
ACT test scores excluded |
|
Drop-out rate, grades 7-12 |
2.7% |
1.5% |
1.4% |
1.3% |
2010; Wash. Area Boards of Education |
|
Averqge cost per student (000s) |
$14.8 |
$12.6 |
$13.6 |
$12.8 |
Excludes capital costs |
|
Teachers (000s) |
10 |
14 |
4 |
9 |
Full-time equivalents |
|
Average salary (000s) |
$74 |
$64 |
$59 |
$49 |
15% productivity advantage? |
|
Non-teachers (000s) |
11 |
8 |
4 |
8 |
Includes para-educators, administrative staff |
|
Instruction cost share |
80% |
85% |
77-86% |
na |
FY 2012 budget |
|
General costs |
10% |
5% |
11% |
10% |
FY 2012 budget – leadership team, back office |
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