NEA: NC is 42nd (not 49th) in per pupil spending

I have spent months countering the “49th in the nation myth,” a talking point manufactured by public school advocacy groups to attack the budget approved by the NC General Assembly last year.  At long last, the National Education Association (NEA) has released Rankings of the States 2011 and Estimates of School Statistics 2012, which should set the record straight.

According to the NEA study, North Carolina ranked 42nd in per pupil expenditure for the current (2011-2012) school year (see table below).

Interestingly, North Carolina’s 2011-2012 ranking (42^nd) is higher than the state’s NEA rankings for the 2010-2011 (45^th) and 2009-2010 (43^rd) school years.  (See Rankings 2011 and Estimates 2012, pp. 54-55, 67)

For intellectually honest progressives, the latest NEA study should settle the question of where North Carolina ranks in per pupil spending.  However, I suspect that the myth will continue to be cited by Democrats and their enablers.

(Source: National Education Association, “Rankings of the States 2011 and Estimates of School Statistics 2012,” December 2011, http://www.nea.org/home/32073.htm, p. 67. Note: I use the “fall enrollment” PPE figures, as recommended by NEA researchers.)