Why State Spending Matters

Title I funding for each disadvantaged student varies from state-to-state based on the average amount of state (and local) funds spent per pupil in that state’s public schools. The more a state spends of its own money, the more Title I money it gets for each disadvantaged student.

The spending differences are very large. For the school year 2008-09, New York was credited with spending $15,498 per student, while Utah was listed at $5,521. Click here to see the spending figures for every state.

The differences are limited in the formula, however. No state is placed in the formula at a spending figure that is less than 80% of the national average, nor more than 120% of the national average.

Using the state per pupil spending average is supposed to account for state-to-state differences in the cost of providing schooling. But what it really accounts for is state-to-state differences in wealth and in political commitment to fund elementary and secondary education.

How does the use of statewide spending averages affect rural, high-poverty districts? Of the Title I eligible students who attend the rural districts with the highest student poverty rates nationally (click here to learn about the "Rural 900" high poverty districts), 59% are in the 14 lowest spending states. Less than 1% of them are in the 12 highest spending states.

A Title I student in Maryland goes into the formula at a spending value of $11,087. If the same student lived in Mississippi, her value would be placed at $7,391. In Maryland, barely more than one in ten children lives in poverty. In Mississippi, well over one in four lives in poverty.

Is the education of a disadvantaged child in Maryland really worth 50% more than the education of a disadvantaged child in Mississippi?

Click here to find a remedy.

The national average per pupil expenditure for the school year 2008-09 was calculated at $9,239. Here are the actual spending figures that year for each state (and the District of Columbia) and the adjusted figure used in the formula after imposing the 80% floor and 120% ceiling.

State Actual PPE Adjusted PPE
ALABAMA 7,299 7,391
ALASKA 12,004 11,087
ARIZONA 7,110 7,391
ARKANSAS 8,143 8,143
CALIFORNIA 7,969 7,969
COLORADO 8,303 8,303
CONNECTICUT 13,014 11,087
DELAWARE 11,871 11,087
DIST. COLUMBIA 16,416 11,087
FLORIDA 7,779 7,779
GEORGIA 8,581 8,581
HAWAII 10,322 10,322
IDAHO 6,524 7,391
ILLINOIS 9,734 9,734
INDIANA 9,072 9,072
IOWA 8,041 8,041
KANSAS 9,381 9,381
KENTUCKY 8,439 8,439
LOUISIANA 8,115 8,115
MAINE 11,175 11,087
MARYLAND 11,130 11,087
MASSACHUSETTS 12,158 11,087
MICHIGAN 10,119 10,119
MINNESOTA 9,223 9,223
MISSISSIPPI 6,999 7,391
MISSOURI 8,219 8,219
MONTANA 8,865 8,865
NEBRASKA 9,447 9,447
NEVADA 7,202 7,391
NEW HAMPSHIRE 10,304 10,304
NEW JERSEY 14,842 11,087
NEW MEXICO 7,882 7,882
NEW YORK 15,498 11,087
NORTH CAROLINA 7,505 7,505
NORTH DAKOTA 8,309 8,309
OHIO 9,634 9,634
OKLAHOMA 6,786 7,391
OREGON 8,694 8,694
PENNSYLVANIA 10,997 10,997
RHODE ISLAND 13,410 11,087
SOUTH CAROLINA 8,166 8,166
SOUTH DAKOTA 7,678 7,678
TENNESSEE 6,754 7,391
TEXAS 7,554 7,554
UTAH 5,521 7,391
VERMONT 12,739 11,087
VIRGINIA 9,618 9,618
WASHINGTON 8,170 8,170
WEST VIRGINIA 9,232 9,232
WISCONSIN 9,981 9,981
WYOMING 11,820 11,087