Watauga County: $8,327 per student
Census report ranks

school spending
By Scott Nicholson
nicholson@wataugademocrat.com

School districts in the United States spent an average of $9,138 per student in fiscal year 2006, according to a recent U.S. Census Bureau report, with North Carolina near the bottom of the list.

North Carolina ranked 46th out of the 50 states and District of Columbia, spending an average of $8,434 per student.

The state fared better in funding its own efforts, ranking 23rd in state contributions to public schools, but was 43rd in local school funding.

North Carolina’s school funding for operational expenses in 2006 was $7,596, with the remainder going toward capital expenses and school construction.

That figure included child nutrition money paid by the federal government for school lunches.

Watauga County ranked 41st in per-pupil spending among the 115 local school systems in the state, according to information collected by the N.C. Department of Public Instruction.

An average of $8,327 was spent on each Watauga County student in 2005-06, and the county ranked 11th in its local contribution to education, spending $2,509 county tax dollars per student.

The county ranks 36th in average income, at $26,033 per capita, suggesting its financial commitment to education is well above those of most other counties. The system had an average-daily-membership enrollment of 4,535 students in 2005-06.

Hyde County spends the most on each student, a total of $14,799, while Davidson County spends the least, at $6,323.

According to the census statistics, public school systems received $521.1 billion in funding from federal, state and local sources in 2006, a 6.7 percent increase over 2005. State governments contributed the greatest share of funding to public school systems (47 percent), followed by local sources (44 percent) and the federal government (9 percent).

The per-pupil spending nationwide increased by $437 from 2005, and debt service fueled by school construction is also on the rise. Total school district debt increased by 8.5 percent to $322.7 billion in fiscal year 2006.

Watauga County’s commitment of $70 million for a new high school while also facing increases in local operating costs is a reflection of nationwide educational spending. Of the $59 billion in capital outlay nationally, $45 billion, or more than three-fourths, was spent on construction, $5 billion was spent on land and existing structures, and $8.7 billion went to equipment.

North Carolina’s teacher salaries average $43,922, lagging the national figure of $49,109, though North Carolina ranks 27th in the nation in that department.

The latest available data for spending at charter schools is 2004-05, the year before Two Rivers Community School opened in Watauga County. Charter schools are funded on the same per-pupil proportions of federal, state and local appropriations that the public school systems receive.