State school spending guide again shows big disparities Saturday, March 24, 2007 • STAR-LEDGER STAFF REPORT The state Department of Education released its annual guide to school spending yesterday, highlighting yet again the wide disparities that exist between districts. Per pupil spending, on average, rose 3.1 percent to $12,098 for the 2006-07 school year. Classroom instruction accounts for roughly 60 percent of that figure, with support services like guidance counseling and nursing accounting for another 15 percent and administrative costs nearly 11 percent. Administrative costs, which have been criticized in the current debate over rising property taxes, rose 1 percent from the year before. "Since 1997, the Comparative Spending Guide has provided the public with detailed statistics about school spending," Education Commissioner Lucille E. Davy said. "It serves as a tool for citizens to use now, to guide discussions about school spending during the local school budget development process." Nearly a decade of large increases in state aid to the poorest 31 urban districts are evident in per pupil spending in those places. Newark, for example, spends $17,974 per pupil annually, as much as many wealthy suburban districts. But spending has fallen far behind in many working-class towns, which struggle to provide a quality education but aren't poor enough to qualify for the infusion of aid. The figures for current spending do not reflect hefty increases in aid, recommended by Gov. Jon Corzine in his most recent budget proposal, to working class districts with many poor students. The entire report can be found online at: http://www.nj.gov/njded/guide/2007/. For more detailed information on individual schools see: http://www.nj.com/news/reportcard/. © 2007 The Star-Ledger. Used by NJ.com with permission.