Sept 21, 2022, NJ101.5 Radio: How much N.J. schools actually spend on teaching students https://nj1015.com/how-much-nj-schools-actually-spend-on-teaching-students-a-rank-of-all-districts/
Total spending per student in New Jersey's public schools increased 7.1% during the 2020-21 school year, according to the annual spending report published by the state. The statewide average was $24,543.
That measurement is more than the budgetary cost per pupil that districts advertise when publishing their user-friendly budget each spring. The budgetary total excludes costs that are not directly comparable between districts such as transportation, debt for school construction and tuition payments for out-of-district programs.
The statewide average budgetary cost per pupil was $18,208 in 2021-22, up from actual budgetary spending of $16,823 in 2020-21. But again, that total exempts spending such as lunch programs and pension payments the state makes on schools' behalf.
The latest Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending was published by the state Department of Education this past summer, though it summarizes spending data from the 2020-21 budgets – so not last school year at this point, but the one before.
DISTRICTS WITH THE HIGHEST SPENDING
The seven
, which isn't surprising given the more intensive needs of their students with special needs and significant disabilities….