Survey places Silver State in bottom 10 on per-pupil education spending

By Paul Takahashi

Wednesday, July 17, 2013 | 2 a.m.

Nevada ranks 44th in the nation among states in per-pupil spending on education, according to a national report released Tuesday.

The National Center for Education Statistics, operated by the Education Department, analyzed public school expenditures and revenue in 50 states and Washington, D.C.

The center found that school spending varied widely across the states and has been climbing steadily over the past 20 years — albeit not as much in recent years as school revenues dropped during the recession.

Here are the major findings from the federal report as it pertains to Nevada:

Per-pupil spending:

Nationally, average per-pupil spending was $10,658 during fiscal year 2011. Expenditures ranged from $6,326 in Utah to $20,793 in Washington, D.C.

Nevada spent an average of $8,411 per student in that time frame, $2,247 less than the national average.

In per-pupil spending, the Silver State ranked ahead of only six states: North Carolina, Mississippi, Arizona, Oklahoma, Idaho and Utah.

Per-student state spending was highest in New York, New Jersey, Alaska, Connecticut and Wyoming.

Nationally, per-pupil spending has been steadily rising by at least 1 percent each year between 1996 and 2008. However, since the recession, increases in per-pupil spending have become smaller.

In 1996, states reported spending a little more than $8,000 per student for education. By 2011, states were spending more than $10,000 per pupil on average.

Total education spending:

Nevada spent about $3.7 billion for public schools in fiscal 2011.

About 60 percent — or $2.2 billion — went to classroom instruction and student support services.

The remainder went to school administration, operations and school maintenance, teacher development, student transportation and food services. Central administration received the smallest piece of the pie, about $46 million.

Total spending for public education nationally was $604 billion. This includes employee salaries and benefits, facility maintenance and school construction, equipment, programs and interest on debt.

States spent the bulk of this money — about 71 percent — on classroom instruction and student support services. About 18 percent went to school operations and the remaining 11 percent went to administration.

Spending on classroom instruction totaled $323 billion, of which nearly 90 percent went to salaries and benefits for educators. Similarly, about 90 percent of the Clark County School District's general fund budget goes to salaries and benefits for educators.

Revenue:

Nevada saw the largest decline in state and local tax revenue nationally during 2011. The Silver State tied with Wyoming in experiencing an 8.5 percent drop in tax revenue for education.

Nevada collected an average of $8,576 per student during fiscal year 2011, a decline of about $800 per pupil from the previous year.

Nationally, the average state and local revenue — adjusted for inflation — was $10,690 per student in fiscal year 2011. That represents a $20, or 0.2 percent, increase in tax revenue from the previous year.

Nationally, federal, state and local revenue for education has declined by about $4 billion, or 0.7 percent between fiscal 2010 and 2011.

States and Washington, D.C. reported collecting about $604 billion in revenue for schools in fiscal 2011. The bulk of the revenue — about 88 percent — came from local and state sources.