What is the Staffing Ratio & How is it Used?
The staffing ratio is based on the relationship between two basic figures – the number of Pupil Units (PU) and the number of FTE staff positions (teaching and non-teaching). The staffing ratio is used to determine the amount of funding available for hiring (or retaining or cutting) staff. The Pupil Unit (PU) is the equivalent of one full time student (or 1.0 FTE PU). Your district defines Pupil Units by calculating the number of courses taken (per day, week or year). It’s important to understand that the PU number is not necessarily the same as the number of students in a grade, classroom or school. For example, if kindergarten students attend school for only one-half of each day, each student is the equivalent of .5 PU. If there is a staffing ratio of 28:1 at your school, your local school will receive a budgetary allocation equivalent to the average cost of 1.0 FTE staff position for every 28 Pupil Units. How the Staffing Ratio is Established You can quickly see, then, that changes i
