United States Government: Democracy in Action

Introduction
Providing education is one of the most important functions of local governments, and local school districts make the key decisions on public school policy. Relying on local funding results in inequality of education across many districts in a state. Even after adding state funds for public education, the level of per student spending differs widely among the states. In this activity, you will compare the amounts spent per student for various states.

Destination Title: U.S. Census Bureau News

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Use the information you found to answer the following questions.

1			What was the average spent per student in fiscal year 2006?
2			About how many school districts are located in the United States?
3			What percentage of public school funds originated at the local level? At the state level? At the federal level?
4			Which three states had the highest expenditures per student?
5			Research to find average per student spending for the current fiscal year in your state. How does the amount spent per student differ in various counties of your state? What is your state government doing to equalize per student spending across the state?