Public schools spend $10,499 per pupil

WASHINGTON, May 25 (UPI) -- U.S. public schools spent an average of $10,499 per pupil in 2009, a slight increase, the Census Bureau reported Wednesday.

New York topped the list at $18,126 for each student, followed by the District of Columbia ($16,408), New Jersey ($16,271), Alaska ($15,552) and Vermont ($15,175).

The states spending the least were Utah at $6,356, Idaho ($7,092), Arizona ($7,813), Oklahoma ($7,885) and Tennessee ($7,897).

Nationwide, per-pupil expenditure rose 2.3 percent compared to 2008, the Census said.

The figures are from "Public Education Finances: 2009," which provides data on revenues, debt and assets of elementary and secondary public school systems along with breakdowns of spending on instruction, transportation, salaries and other items.

The sharpest increases in per-pupil spending were in the District of Columbia (12.4 percent), Utah (10.3 percent), Minnesota (9.4 percent), North Carolina (7.4 percent) and Maine (6.3 percent).

Public schools received $590.9 billion in funding in 2009, up 1.5 percent from 2008. States chipped in 46.7 percent, along with 43.8 percent from local revenues and 9.5 percent from federal aid.

Total spending was $604.9 billion in 2009, a 2 percent rise from the year before.