Preliminary data on the 2019-2020 school year released by the U.S. Census Bureau reveals that New York now spends more than $30,000 per K-12 student, further entrenching its position as the most expensive public education system in the country. Despite this new public school spending milestone, falling enrollment anddissatisfied parents indicate education dollars aren’t doing enough to help kids.
All told, New York spends $30,772 per student each year. This number doesn’t account for recent influxes of cash including $13 billion in federal COVID relief and a $3 billion state dollars for last school year that taxpayersare footing the bill for. New York City schools will get roughly half of this total windfall, amounting to billions in additional funding for the embattled district.