California tumbled two more spots, to 49th in the nation in per-pupil spending, in Education Week’s latest annual Quality Counts report, released last week. The ranking covers spending in 2010 and thus doesn’t include the impact of higher taxes that voters approved in passing Proposition 30 in November.
California remains near the bottom nationwide in per-student spending. Source: Quality Counts 2013. (Click to enlarge)
California’s per-student spending of $8,482 was $3,342 – 28 percent – below the national average of $11,824. Only Nevada ($8,419) and Utah ($7,042) spent less. Another Western state, Wyoming – $18,814 per student – led the nation in spending. The gap between California and the nation grew $344 per student in 2010, as California’s per-student spending dropped $185 from the year before as a result of a massive state budget deficit, while spending nationally grew $159. Last year, California ranked 47th out of 51; two years ago, before the impact of the recession, it was 43rd.
Education Week’s often-cited annual ranking factors in regional costs of living. (There are also significant regional cost disparities within California.) By comparison,
EdWatch 2013: Accountability, accreditation test community colleges - by Kathryn Baron
California community colleges did something counterintuitive last year, and that may put them in a strong position to rebound in 2013 with help from Proposition 30 and increased state revenues. Even as the 112-college system was getting hit with an $809 million budget cut in recent years, it was developing and slowly rolling out a comprehensive reform plan. Now, with Gov. Brown proposing to...