In the most recent NC Public School Forum (NCPSF) newsletter was a partial reprint of an article at Washington Post about per pupil spending.
The Washington post article claims national per pupil spending dropped for the third straight year.
At the bottom of the excerpt NCPSF includes is this:
According to the report, North Carolina ranked 44th with the state’s per-pupil spending at $8,342. The data included all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia. Only Texas, Mississippi, Nevada, Oklahoma, Arizona, Idaho, and Utah spend less per-pupil than North Carolina.
That’s not accurate. North Carolina’s per pupil spending has increased yearly since 2011 and was at an all-time high in 2015. In fact, the majority of NC Districts spent close to $9,200 per kid in 2015, as Dr. Stoops noted:
When you include state ($5,638), federal ($1,005), local ($2,133), and 5-year average capital ($406) dollars, the state’s per-pupil expenditure totaled $9,182 last year.
In addition, 85 of North Carolina’s 115 school districts spent more than $9,000/student on operating and capital expenses. No district spent less than $7,300 per student
History has proven that spending more money does not translate to more success. Spending money smarter does.
More spending does not equal success.
Better spending does.
Not a single district seems to get this. #nced https://t.co/SMBnRF7UwB
— A.P. Dillon – LL1885 (@LadyLiberty1885) January 20, 2016
LL1885 