Public-School Spending Hits 16-Year High as New York Leads U.S.

In the latest year for which there is data, 2008, school spending rose sharply:

Public school systems in the U.S. spent the most per student on education in 2008 in at least 16 years, after adjusting for inflation, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data by Bloomberg.

The average spending per pupil was $10,259, a 6.1 percent increase over the previous year, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report released on June 28. That's the biggest spending increase since at least 1992, the earliest year for which data was immediately available, when adjusted for inflation in 2009 dollars, the Bloomberg analysis found. New York spent the most, laying out $17,173 per pupil, according to the census report. Utah spent the least per student, just $5,765.

The data don't reflect recent budget cuts affecting school systems around the U.S. after the nation's worst recession since the Great Depression.

 

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http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-06-30/public-school-spending-hits-16-year-high-as-new-york-leads-u-s-.html