Are schools spending more money than they used to?
Yes. It is true that NC12 will spend more money this year than it did six years ago. The reasons for that are inflation, increased enrollment (16,205 student a year ago compared to 11,832 students in 1989), and higher costs for government-mandated special programs. Correcting for inflation, our schools are actually spending less money per pupil than in 1990. While $97,563,560 in 2003-04 spending seems like a great deal of money (and it is), it represents about $5.76 per hour for each hour a student is in school, including the cost of busing and extracurricular activities.
