May 25
Utah Still 51st In Per Pupil Spending
2007 at 12:15 pm | posted by Rep. Craig Frank 1 comment
Every year Utah seems to trail behind 50th place in per pupil spending. Even with the additional nearly HALF A BILLION DOLLARS in increased educating spending this past legislative session, Utah is still 51st. Click HERE for print news article.
Recently I blogged about this issue. And, I reiterate that Utah will probably never catch up to 50th; because, every time we (#51) put a half billion into education, so does Arizona (#50). Everyone’s running the same race at a simiar pace.
Click HERE to review my previous blog.
One Response to “Utah Still 51st In Per Pupil Spending”
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May 25th, 2007 at 12:51 pm
This is why per-pupil spending is a poor metric for trying to measure student achievement. All of the states are caught in a “keeping up with the Joneses” game of uncontrolled education spending that rarely makes its way down to the rank-and-file. Some surveys show that teacher pay, when adjusted for inflation, has stayed flat since 1970 despite doubling education spending in that same period.
The only financial metric I think we should be concerned with is how teacher pay stacks up against average wages compared to other states. Poor pay scales not only force existing teachers out of the field but also fail to attract new teachers.