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Charlotte Business Journal North Carolina public schools are near the bottom of the list when it comes to the amount of money spent per student, according to a report by the U.S. Census Bureau. The state placed 44th in the report, which ranked the 50 states and the District of Columbia by the amount of money public schools spent per pupil during the 2006-07 school year
According to the report, public schools in North Carolina spent an average of $7,883 per pupil during the fiscal 2007 school year. That’s nearly $2,000 below the national average of $9,666. Northern states and the District of Columbia reported the highest spending rates. Seven of the top 10 states were from the region. New York came in first with average spending per pupil of $15,981. New Jersey and Washington, D.C., rounded out the top three, ranking second and third, respectively. Virginia and Georgia placed highest in the South, ranking 17th and 25th, respectively. South Carolina placed 34th, at $8,533. Mississippi (46th) and Tennessee (49th) were the only Southeastern states to rank below North Carolina. Utah took last place on the list at $5,683.
I realize that many states spend more for reasons that don't directly impact students, but this can't be spun in a positive light for North Carolina.
When I lived in CT where schools were run by each town, vs county here, there was always debate on school budgets. There were always statistics in the paper on which towns spent more etc, and there were usually comparisons on achievement. Some of the towns that spent less (not all, of course) did have better achievement levels, it can be done (sorry, no time to find references) with less money. A lot of what is spent is not spent wisely. It's certainly easier to spend more and get good results, but good programs will get good results even if the textbooks aren't new.....
My older daughter repeated 6th grade last year (special needs combined with missing 83 days of school due to illness the previous year). She came home with a brand new social studies textbook her 2nd time around.....the old one, which we still had (for review over summer) was almost identical, and was not overly worn. Sixth grade social studies, what could have changed that would warrant brand new textbooks? If you combine spending less with what I would consider "stupid" spending, THAT will result in poorer education.
When I lived in CT where schools were run by each town, vs county here, there was always debate on school budgets. There were always statistics in the paper on which towns spent more etc, and there were usually comparisons on achievement. Some of the towns that spent less (not all, of course) did have better achievement levels, it can be done (sorry, no time to find references) with less money. A lot of what is spent is not spent wisely. It's certainly easier to spend more and get good results, but good programs will get good results even if the textbooks aren't new.....
My older daughter repeated 6th grade last year (special needs combined with missing 83 days of school due to illness the previous year). She came home with a brand new social studies textbook her 2nd time around.....the old one, which we still had (for review over summer) was almost identical, and was not overly worn. Sixth grade social studies, what could have changed that would warrant brand new textbooks? If you combine spending less with what I would consider "stupid" spending, THAT will result in poorer education.
Everything in your post makes total sense. I think there is a lot of waste in how things are funded and how money is spent in most school systems. In fact, in bureaucracies, in general. The larger the system, the more likely there will be waste. You would think there would be economies of scale put into place but that is not what I see happening.
Good points, Joan.
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