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Chart: At Least We’re Not in Illinois

LA School Report | May 22, 2013



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Census Bureau via Wall Street Journal

The LA Times reported earlier this week that California has slipped another notch in public spending on K-12 education — from 23rd in 2008 to 35th in 2011 — part of a nationwide dip in spending reported by the Census Bureau.

At least we’re not in Illinois, where education funding dropped the most (7.4 percent) over the same time period. Still, particularly shocking was this tidbit: “The New York City school district spends twice as much per pupil on instructional salaries as does Los Angeles Unified.”

Things are likely to get better thanks to last year’s ballot measure to hike taxes for public education, and Governor Jerry Brown’s proposed formula revamp could make things even better for districts like LAUSD with lots of bilingual and poor students — if it’s approved.

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