Title: School Spending Is Not to Blame for Education Challenges | Issues 2020
Headings: Issues 2020: Public School Spending Is at an All-Time High
Issues 2020: Public School Spending Is at an All-Time High
The Narrative
Reality
Key Findings
Perception vs. Reality
Per Pupil Nearly Highest in the World and in History
Well-Maintained Schools, Well-Funded Teachers
Equitably Funded Students
Proper Arguments About School Spending
Endnotes

Content: U.S. per-pupil expenditures have nearly tripled over the past half-century, from $4,720 in 1966 to $13,847 in 2016 (2018 dollars). America spends more per pupil than any other major developed nation—10% more than the United Kingdom and 28% more than France; in the OECD, only Norway, Switzerland, and Luxembourg spend more. 2. Fewer than one in 20 American schools is in “poor” condition; and a move into teaching typically leads to higher earnings. Schools have become substantially more spacious in recent decades and federal data now report that only 3% of schools overall—and only 4% of high-poverty schools—are in “poor” condition. The typical private-sector worker experiences an 8% compensation increase when transitioning into education, while the typical teacher experiences a 3% salary decrease when transitioning into the private sector. Rising spending has not boosted teacher pay because the explosion in nonteaching staff has absorbed it instead; if the ratio of nonteaching staff to student enrollment had remained at its 1992 level, the money saved could have provided teachers with an additional $11,000 in compensation.