Posted at 12:20 p.m., Friday, May 25, 2007
Hawai'i ranked 19th for per-student spending
Associated Press
HONOLULU — Hawai'i spends more money on each public school student than average — nearly $9,000 per student, according to an annual U.S. Census Bureau study.The state paid $8,997 per student in the 2004-2005 fiscal year, the 19th-highest amount in the country, the study said.
But education officials, who would like to see more resources for public education, contend the rankings are skewed because they don't account for Hawai'i's high cost of living, which means money doesn't go as far as it does on the Mainland.
"If you did apply the cost-of-living adjustment, you'd see a whole different ranking," said Department of Education spokesman Greg Knudsen. "It would definitely drop toward the end of the list, if not to the bottom."
Hawai'i moved up from 20th place in per-student spending in the 2003-2004 year, passing Virginia.
On average, states spent $8,701 nationwide on students. New York led the nation with $14,119, and Utah came in last at $5,257.
The study also ranked Hawai'i near the bottom in general administrative expenses at $114 per student, compared to the national average of $168 dollars, in part because of its islandwide administrative structure.
