State and district spending, by the numbers

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has released new data on how much each state invests in its public school students, reports Rebecca Klein for The Huffington Post. NCES, an arm of the Department of Education, examined states' revenues and expenditures per pupil in public elementary and secondary schools during 2011-2012. The agency also looked at data on spending and revenues at the level of individual districts. School revenue is defined as funds from "local, intermediate, state, and federal sources," while school expenditure refers to "all amounts of money paid out by a school system." The District of Columbia and New York state spend most, over $19,000 per student. Utah and Idaho spend least, around $6,500. The data also show that between fiscal years 2011 and 2012, most states' spending on education decreased. Districts in the South and West tend to spend less than counterparts in the Northeast, which corresponds with state-level findings. New York City spends the most on students -- $20,226 per pupil -- while Alpine School District in Utah spends a low of $5,412 per pupil. The data were compiled based on responses to the School District Finance Survey, which collected information from individual districts, and the National Public Education Finance Survey, which gathered information from state education agencies. More

Source:  Public Education News Blast

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