Monday, October 17, 2011

California school spending among lowest in the nation | California Watch

California school spending among lowest in the nation | California Watch:

California school spending among lowest in the nation

woodley wonderworks/Flickr

Budget shortfalls have pushed California's spending on public schools to a historic low, relative to the rest of the United States, according to a new analysis by the California Budget Project.

California ranks 46th in the U.S. in K-12 spending per student. It spent $2,856 less per student in 2010-11 than did the rest of the nation – a spending gap that is four times wider than it was a decade earlier, when the state lagged behind by $691 per student.

While it's debatable whether more spending means better schools, it's clear that sharp declines in California's