Spending on the nation’s public schools has gone up slightly, according to data from the National Center for Education Statistics, with state spending on K-12 increasing at exactly the same rate as federal spending has dropped.
Per-pupil spending rose by 1.2 percent from fiscal 2013 to fiscal 2014, to an average of $11,066 per student, after declining from 2009 to 2013. Such spending by state ranged from $6,546 in Utah to $20,577 in the District of Columbia.
Federal, state, and local spending totaled $623 billion in fiscal 2014. From fiscal 2013 to fiscal 2014, state revenues for schools rose by 3.9 percent, while federal revenue dipped by 3.9 percent.
The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, a think tank, reported at the start of this year that in fiscal 2014, 31 states spent less per student than they did in fiscal 2008.
