By Bill Lucia
Route Fifty
Total public school expenditures per-student in New York were the highest of any U.S. state during fiscal 2013, checking in at $19,818, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures released on Tuesday.
In contrast, school systems in Utah spent the equivalent of $6,555 per pupil, the least of any state. The fact that per-student spending varies widely across the country was one of the bigger takeaways illustrated in “Public Education Finances: 2013.”
The annual survey of U.S. public schools includes a broad range of information collected from 15,144, pre-kindergarten through 12th grade systems across the nation, including figures related to revenues, spending, debt and other financial issues.
Among the 100 individual school systems with the largest number of students enrolled during fall 2013, Boston’s public schools spent the most per pupil—$20,502. The Alpine School District, which serves an area south of Salt Lake City, spent the least, $5,539.
Overall, U.S. public school systems spent $596.3 billion in fiscal 2013, a 0.5 percent increase over 2012. The tick upwards also marked the end of a three-year downward slide in total U.S. elementary and secondary education spending, according to the Census Bureau.
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