Conn. Education Spending Among Highest in U.S.

With the school year and the campaign season coinciding in September, the issue of school spending is often at the forefront. Politicians often advocate for more investment in education — or at least getting rid of potentially wasteful spending that could bog down services.

Regardless of personal views on funding public education, the fact is that Connecticut spends among the highest per pupil in the United States. A report from the U.S. Census Bureau released in June shows Connecticut ranks seventh in the nation with Washington D.C. included. Connecticut’s $14,906 spent per student in 2009-10 is the second highest in New England behind Vermont.

More recent numbers are available for the spending of all the school districts in Connecticut.

Region 14

In 2010-11, Region 14 spent 14,373 per student.

Region 15

In 2010-11, Region 15 spent 13,026 per student.

Full numbers for every district are attached to this article in a PDF, and the below charts reveal the biggest spenders in the state and country.

Biggest Spenders Per Pupil by State

State Spending Per Pupil (2009-10) Washington D.C. $18,667 New York $18,618 New Jersey $16,841 Alaska $15,783 Vermont $15,274

Wyoming 

$15,169

Connecticut

$14,906

Massachusetts

$14,350

Maryland 

$13,738

Rhode Island

$13,699

Biggest Spenders Per Pupil in Connecticut

School District Spending Per Pupil (2011) Total Budget (2011) Canaan $22,105.83 $3,094,595 Cornwall $22,051.40  $3,735,508

Sharon

$21,928.31 $6,283,556

Region No. 1 (Canaan, Cornwall and nearby towns)

$20,734.70  $10,429,556

Region No. 12 (Bridgewater, Roxbury, Washington)

$20,468.56 $19,115,792

Biggest Budgets By District ($100 Million-Plus)

School District Total Budget (2011) Spending Per Pupil (2011) Hartford $379,784,614  $18,100.25 New Haven $326,302,162  $18,500.16 Bridgeport $281,947,431 $13,458.71 Waterbury $256,520,588 $14,579.56 Stamford $246,545,506 $16,302.39 Norwalk $173,065,848 $15,509.44 Greenwich $161,471,040 $18,516.30 Fairfield $146,844,750 $14,379.95 New Britain

$137,063,891

$12,626.37 West Hartford

$133,734,360

$12,800.66 Danbury

$124,425,721

$11,866.41 Meriden

$114,391,035

$12,429.38 Milford

$104,002,503

$14,806.12 Manchester

$102,489,391

$13,658.20 Westport

$100,058,692

$17,435.14

 

Editor's Note: A cost per student ranking was listed incorrectly in the first posting of the article. It is now corrected. Patch regrets the error.