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 highest in New England, just beating out Massachusetts.
More recent numbers are available for the spending of all the school districts in Connecticut. In 2010-11, Bethany spent $13,510 per student, Woodbridge spent $14,912 and the shared district of Region No. 5 spent $13,924.
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 $15,274Wyoming
$15,169Connecticut
$14,906Massachusetts
$14,350Maryland
$13,738Rhode 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 $3,735,508Sharon
$21,928.31 $6,283,556Region No. 1 (Canaan, Cornwall and nearby towns)
$20,734.70 $10,429,556Region No. 12 (Bridgewater, Roxbury, Washington)
$20,468.56 $19,115,792Biggest 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