Statistics Iceland has calculated the average operational cost per student in all primary schools that are run by local governments, according to paragraph 2 Article 56, Act No 66/1995 on Primary Schools and paragraph 6, Directive No. 320, March 26, 2007 on the accreditation of primary schools and the minimum contribution from local governments to such schools.

This calculation is done according to paragraph 2 in Article 6 of the aforementioned directive that states:

„The calculation made by Statistics Iceland according to paragraph 1 shall be available in September each year. The calculation shall be based on the Annual Reports of local governments for the previous year, according to price changes until the day the calculations are done. Calculation of price changes shall be done according to general rise in the wages of employees of primary schools and changes in the consumer price index allowing for the weight of each component in the operational cost of the primary schools.”

The average operational cost per student in primary schools in 2007 turned out to be 960,502 ISK and the increase in the weighted average price level from 2007 until September 2008 was estimated at around 11.7%

The findings of the calculation are, therefore, that the estimated operational cost per student in primary schools that are run by local government is 1,072,884 ISK in September 2008.