Charlotte Observer columnist Fannie Flono weighs in on a Queen’s University of Charlotte research study that shows that the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) does just as well as Wake County Schools (WCPSS), despite the fact that CMS does not engage in Wake County style social engineering.

I found this comment to be a curious one:

But there’s something Wake parents should understand. CMS’s plan has created increasing numbers of high-poverty, low-performing schools. It’s struggling mightily to overcome that trend, and it’s costing a lot of money.

The obvious question is: how much money? Fannie does not say. Does she even know?

According to DPI figures, CMS does spend slightly more money per student than WCPSS, around $328 per student (child nutrition excluded). But CMS receives more state ($54 per student) and federal ($130 per student) funds because it has more low income children. CMS spends an additional $144 per student in local funds, which is where funds for teacher recruitment and retention, as well as a vast number of other functions, come from.

It is possible that a significant portion of the additional $144 per student goes to high-poverty, low-performing schools. A good editorial would have informed the reader of this additional, per student expense.

Update: I forgot to mention that Wake County ($6,115 for 9,671 teachers) has an average teacher salary supplement that is higher than CMS ($5,697 for 9,761 teachers). Local dollars fund salary supplements. The supplements add local dollars to teacher salaries, most of which are funded with state dollars.