ELC News - Abbott Myth #1: Abbott Districts Spend The Most Per Pupil

We’re sure you’ve heard this one: "Abbott districts spend the most per pupil in New Jersey, even more than wealthier suburban districts."

Here are some recent examples: State Education Commissioner Lucille Davy last month told the NJ Supreme Court that Abbott districts are spending $16,407 per pupil, but the wealthy suburban districts are only spending $13,703 per pupil, just slightly above the state average of $13,209.

Or a recent Asbury Park Press editorial citing Newark as spending $17,954 per pupil, compared to $9,191 per pupil in Brick Township.

So is it true? Are Abbott districts the highest spending per pupil? No, it’s completely false. And here’s why.

The per-pupil spending cited above is based on the total amount of each district’s budget divided by total district enrollment. So what‘s the problem?

The problem is that all school districts are not the same. Not even close. New Jersey’s districts have a wide variation of student needs, and spending to address those needs. Some districts – like the Abbotts – have extremely high numbers of poor students, English language learners, and students with other special needs, while suburban districts have very few of these students. In-between are districts with varying levels of student need. And student needs greatly impact individual district budgets and spending.

After all, the public school system in the Garden State remains one of the most segregated by student poverty and race in the nation.

In other words, our school districts are not the same, and their budgets, which reflect extra funding for student poverty or children with disabilities, are also very different. And students with special needs cost more to educate because they need tutoring, extra supports and supplemental services. With fewer special needs students, a district can spend more of its overall budget on regular education students, and that’s what happens in the wealthier districts. When a district serves more students with special needs, its overall budget numbers may go up, but its per-pupil spending doesn’t. It actually goes down.

Yet the NJ Department of Education continues to publicize spending data that treat districts as though they are the same, when they clearly are not.

Melvin Wyns, former director of the Office of School Funding at NJDOE – and an expert on school funding in New Jersey -- recently estimated 2008-09 district spending by adjusting for student need, which is the only way to compare district spending per pupil. Mr. Wyns uses the "weighted student enrollments" in Governor Corzine’s new school funding formula.

Here’s what New Jersey school districts will spend on average in 2008-09 based on student need:

Bottom line: New Jersey’s wealthy suburban districts are the highest spending school districts per pupil, and will outspend Abbott districts by $901 per pupil. Put differently, the wealthy districts will spend $901 per pupil more to educate their students than Abbott districts, and $934 per pupil more than in middle-income districts.

So whenever a State education official, or a State Senator, or the Asbury Park Press, or anyone else says that Abbott districts spend the most, they’re just plain wrong. Even worse, they are misleading the public and doing a grave disservice to the teachers, board members and others working hard to improve our high poverty Abbott districts and schools. Not to mention the Abbott school children and their families.

But don’t just complain about it. Stand up for our poorest school children by challenging those who spread this false information. Be an Abbott myth buster!