Posted 11:16 AM by Susan Darst Williams

THE BLOB IN OPS: ONE EMPLOYEE FOR EVERY 7.6 KIDS

A check of the 2002-03 budget of the Omaha Public Schools shows that there is one employee for every 7.6 students.

They call the nonteaching workforce in K-12 education "The Blob." That's because it's big . . . and it's growing.

The workforce within OPS topped the 6,000 mark for the first time this year, a 2.3 increase in staffing over the year before. Divide the 45,782 children enrolled, pre-K through grade 12, by the 6,002.7 employees, and you come up with a staff-to-child ratio of 7.6.

The 3,012 full-time equivalent employees in regular instruction form the largest employment category. But it's still just about half the total OPS workforce. That reflects a national trend in education, that barely half of a school district's staff are regular classroom teachers. The percentage used to be closer to 80 percent.

Other OPS employment subgroups are:

Special education: 788.3 full-time equivalent employees

Student support services: 535

Building and grounds: 455.9

School administration: 375.1

Transportation services: 352.9

Instructional support: 206.6

Early-childhood special-ed: 105.7

Business support services: 100.8

Board of education and general administration: 45.1

Early-childhood non-special ed: 18.6

Employee assistance: 3.5

Adult high school: 3.0

Total: 6,002.7

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Source: 2002-03 budget, Omaha Public Schools, pp. 51-85, www.ops.org