Colorado spends less on its public school students than most of the other states, according to the United States Census Bureau. When this was expressed in relation to Colorado residents' income, Colorado is near the bottom of the list. The U.S. Census Bureau released figures showing how much money was spent per student in each state (and the District of Columbia). Colorado ranks 33rd in the money it spends per student. The list that they give numbers New Jersey at one ($9,461 per student), New York at two ($8,467 per student), Arkansas at three ($8,213 per student), Washington D.C. at four ($8,048 per student), and Connecticut at five ($7,998 per student). Colorado spends $5,252 per student, making the list at number thirty-three. The average United States school spends $5,873 per student, placing Colorado way down on the list.
Educators who complain that schools should get more financial resources, in light of Colorado's economic boom, will find the ammunition they're looking for in the U.S. Census Bureau. Educators have found that Coloradans spend relatively little on education when compared to personal income. Colorado ranks at number forty-five on the list, at $36.88 per $1,000 of personal income. Alaska was number one on the list at $71.58, and the District of Columbia last with a $33.36 average. The national average comes in at $41.67 per $1,000 of personal income.
Moving on to other Colorado spending issues, it seems that some Colorado educators are placing bumper stickers on their vehicles that state to be forty-ninth in school spending. This idea and plan originated from a study by the trade publication, Education Week. Phil Fox, the deputy director of the Colorado Association of School Executives has been quoted as saying, "This is a subject of great controversy, about rankings of school spending. The problem is that they all use different data." However, when it comes to Colorado's spending in education, all studies have had similar results.
