Per-pupil spending for the nation reached $10,700 during fiscal year 2013, a 0.9 percent increase from 2012, but varied heavily from state to state.

The findings come from a report by the Census Bureau titled Public Education Finances: 2013, which provides figures on revenues, expenditures, debt and assets (cash and security holdings) for the nation’s elementary and secondary public school systems. The report, released annually, includes statistics on spending — such as instruction, student transportation, salaries and employee benefits — at the national, state and school district levels.

“These statistics provide researchers, policymakers and the public with a picture of the nation’s public school system education revenue and spending,” said Stephen Wheeler, an analyst with the Census Bureau’s educational finance branch, in a statement. “These data are used in a variety of important economic measures such as the Department of Education’s Title I Grants and the Bureau of Economic Analysis’ gross domestic product measure.”

Areas that spent the most per pupil in 2013 were New York ($19,818), Alaska ($18,175), the District of Columbia ($17,953), New Jersey ($17,572) and Connecticut ($16,631). Areas that spent the least per pupil included Utah ($6,555), Idaho ($6,791), Arizona ($7,208), Oklahoma ($7,672) and Mississippi ($8,130).

Expenditures by public school systems totaled $596.3 billion in fiscal year 2013, up 0.5 percent from the prior year. This breaks a three-year trend of decreasing total expenditures for elementary and secondary education. Public education expenditure categories include instructional spending, support service spending, capital outlay and other spending. Total school district debt increased by 3.2 percent, from $402.2 billion in fiscal year 2012 to $415.2 billion in 2013.

Expenditures for instruction amounted to $321.3 billion (60.6 percent) of total current spending. Instructional salaries are the largest expenditure category for public elementary and secondary education, which accounted for 34.9 percent or $208 billion. Expenditures for support services amounted to $181.7 billion, a 1 percent increase from the prior year. Expenditures on student transportation were $23.4 billion, a 1.2 percent increase from 2012 figures. Revenue contributions from all sources to elementary and secondary education revenue amounted to $597.9 billion, up 0.6 percent from the previous year.

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“Education is the largest single item in my budget,” Corbett said Tuesday. “The increase I propose would bring direct state support of public education to $10.1 billion, more than 40 percent of state spending.”

Corbett proposed to allocate $400 million more to public school funding than he has in previous years, including $20 million for special education and $25 million to help students receive higher education. However, many state lawmakers are attributing the shift to election year politics, as all eight of Corbett’s democratic challengers are also calling for increases in education spending.

A poll released recently by F&M showed Pennsylvania voters care greatly about the state’s investment in education. Nineteen percent of polled voters ranked education as their top concern, a number bested only by unemployment and personal finances, which 26 percent of polled voters chose as their top issue.

The state’s previous Governor Ed Rendell pumped over $1 billion in stimulus funds into Pennsylvania’s education initiatives before leaving office in 2010, the final year such funding was available. When Corbett came into office in 2011, the state was facing down a $4.2 billion funding deficit. The new Republican governor proceeded to make deep cuts in education funding in an attempt to narrow the gap, a move that has not been forgotten. Political opponents and educators alike have since accused the governor of neglecting poor school districts. However, Governor Corbett maintains that those cuts were the result of those expired federal stimulus funds, and that state education funding is actually higher than it has ever been at $5.5 billion.

Without the benefit of the stimulus funds, Corbett signed off on a 2011 budget which eliminated well over $400 million from the state’s basic education funding. Additional cuts impacted the state’s charter school reimbursement program, Accountability Block Grants and higher education spending. In that same year the governor was also forced to double school-employee pension contributions to more than $300 million as the result of new legislation.

However, in his following budgets Corbett has worked to restore these funds. He added nearly $172 million to basic education funding and roughly $100 million to the state’s Accountability Block Grants.

To show his support for education, Corbett has also thrown his weight behind HB 1738, which would create a commission tasked with developing a new and improved statewide education funding formula. According to Corbett, as well as education advocates, the current system is unfair and needs to be changed. Additionally, the governor has said he would increase pre-kindergarten education funding by an estimated $10 million.

Both the Pennsylvania House and Senate are set to begin budget hearings on Feb. 10.

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