Maryland and D.C. public schools are among the national leaders in per-student spending, according to a new U.S. Census Bureau report.
The District spent $14,324 per pupil during the 2007-08 school year and landed third on the spending list behind New Jersey and the No. 1 public school spender, New York.
Maryland spent $12,966 per student that year, compared with the national average of $10, 259.
Maryland’s high ranking is likely due to its maintenance of effort law, which requires local governments to spend more on education each year than they did the year before.
More than half of the money Maryland spent on education during the ‘07-08 school year came from local tax. On average, only 36.6 percent of public school funding comes from local sources, according to the Census Bureau.
