Title: Idaho still ranks low on education spending | The Spokesman-Review
Headings: Idaho still ranks low on education spending
Idaho still ranks low on education spending
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Content: The share of Idaho’s personal income that goes to schools dropped 23 percent from 2000 to 2013, according to the Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy. Washington long has scored low in the measure of spending per $1,000 in personal income because of the state’s relatively high personal income, which has been well above the national average for years. Washington was 46th on that measure in 2010-11, a slight improvement from 49th place the year before. Nationally, property taxes accounted for 65.6 percent of revenue from local sources for public school systems. Idaho state Superintendent of Schools Tom Luna said, “How much we spend per student is an important factor, but it’s not the only factor.” He said Idaho’s low ranking is influenced by demographics. “ There’s a reason that Idaho and Utah constantly end up at the bottom end … and it’s because we have large families,” Luna said, adding that he has six children. “ We have fewer taxpayers per student in Idaho than we have in many other states.” The 2000 Census found that Utah had the highest number of children under 18 per family, followed by Alaska at second-highest, Idaho third, and California fourth. However, Alaska ranked third-highest for per-student spending;