For Immediate Release: November 19, 1999

San Francisco, CA – Per student K-12 public school spending in California is almost one-fifth higher than the official state figure of $6025, according to a new briefing published jointly by the Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy (PRI) and California Parents for Educational Choice.

The study also found that per pupil funding was even greater in many individual school districts. For instance, Los Angeles Unified School District has per-pupil funding of $9,029, San Francisco Unified School District receives $10,021, and Sausalito Elementary School District receives $16,555.

The difference between the authors’ figure, $7272, and the official figure, $6025, was primarily due to the failure of the state’s figure to include federal taxes spent on public schools, the various local and state funds such as lottery dollars, and interest payments on school bonds.

Co-authors Lance Izumi, co-director of PRI’s Center for School Reform, and Carl Brodt, a financial analyst with Union Bank of San Francisco, stated that: "What makes it so easy for the public school establishment to give the public inaccurate numbers is that public schools in California are funded at many different levels – federal, state, county, and local." They continued, "Another factor that makes it so difficult for the public to get accurate information about spending on public schools is that the budget documents are in total disarray."

"It’s very easy to leave off funding without the public being aware that it isn’t being given the whole story," said Dr. Alan Bonsteel, President of California Parents for Educational Choice, co-sponsors of the briefing. "They failed to tell the public the truth about dropout rates, and they’ve failed to tell us the truth about spending rates. How can we rely on these education bureaucrats to teach ‘common values’ to our kids, when they don’t seem to have ever learned any kind of values themselves."

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To obtain a copy of "A Short Primer on Per-Pupil Spending in California," please contact Laura Dykes of PRI at 415/989-0833, by fax at 415/989-2411, or by e-mail at ldykes@pacificresearch.org or visit PRI’s www site at http://www.pacificresearch.org/.

The Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy is a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of the principles of individual freedom and personal responsibility. The Institute believes these principles are best encouraged through policies that emphasize a free economy, private initiative, and limited government. By focusing on public policy issues such as health care, welfare, education, and the environment, the Institute strives to foster a better understanding of the principles of a free society among leaders in government, academia, the media, and the business community.