“Below average student spending slaps North Carolina with a low rank” is the actual title of this Triangle Business Journal article.
The state spent $7,996 per student [not including prekindergarten expenditures] during the 2007-08 school year, better than only six other states: Mississippi ($7,901), Tennessee ($7,739), Oklahoma ($7,685), Arizona ($7,608), Idaho ($6,931) and Utah ($5,765).
Spending is not a strong indicator of quality. For example, academically-challenged Washington DC spends nearly $14,600 per student.
