Title: How States Are Spending Money in Education | Data Mine | US News
Headings: How States Are Spending Money in Education
How States Are Spending Money in Education
Content: Many States Trail in College Funding and Tuition ]
Per-pupil spending includes funds used for direct instruction, as well as student support services such as social work, guidance, health and psychological services, speech pathology and audiology. Per-student dollars also flow to general support services such as instructional staff support, general and school administration, operations and maintenance costs and student transportation. Overall, spending for instruction decreased by 3.3 percent from 2011 to 2012, and total support services decreased by 2.5 percent. Per-student spending ranged from a low of $6,441 in Utah to a high of $19,847 in the District of Columbia. States with large and medium student populations of more than 400,000 generally spent less per student than states with smaller student populations under 400,000 students. States with lower per-student spending generally spent slightly more on capital outlay expenses for property and construction. [
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Of the 15 states with more than 1 million students (categorized as "large"), just five spent more than the national average per student. Texas, for example, has the second-highest student population (just over 5 million), but its per-student spending is $8,213, below the national average of $10,667. On the other hand, of the 15 states and the District of Columbia with fewer than 400,000 students (categorized as "small"), 12 spent more than average per student.