California schools see major increase in per pupil spending
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California public school systems spent 10.3% more per pupil in fiscal year 2023 than in 2022, per new Census Bureau data.
Why it matters: Spending per student can be a measure of educational resources afforded to kids, but also reflects the costs of administration, building maintenance, transportation and more.
By the numbers: California's growth in per-pupil spending nearly doubled the nationwide increase of 5.7%.
- It trailed only New Mexico (18.4%), the District of Columbia (15.3%), Hawaii (15.1%), Michigan (11.6%) and Colorado (10.7%) in the largest year-over-year increases.
Yes, but: California in the 2022-23 school year introduced universal transitional kindergarten, essentially a new public school grade for 4 year olds with a $2.7 billion price tag.
- Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2021 signed a bill expanding it from serving roughly 100,000 students with late birthdays to a universal program.
- It's set to be available to all California 4 year olds for the 2025-26 school year.
Zoom in: San Diego Unified acted ahead of the state's timeline and offered UTK to most students beginning in the 2022-23 school year.
- SDUSD is expanding its program for next year, increasing the number of classrooms by 10% and reducing class sizes from 24 to 20.