California ranks 23rd in per-pupil spending
By Scott Martindale/Orange County Register
California ranks 23rd among U.S. states in per-pupil spending on public education, below the national average of $10,259, according to newly released financial data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The average $9,863 that California spent per student is based on data from the 2007-08 school year – the latest year for which financial figures are available – and thus does not reflect the dramatic cuts in state spending over the past two years that have decimated local school districts' budgets. School financial reporting at the national level always runs about two years behind because of the time it takes to collect and analyze the information, said Stephen Wheeler, a survey statistician in the U.S. Census Bureau's governments division. (more...)
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