News Release

NEA Study: Stagnant Resources
Jeopardize Public Schools

Washington, D.C. -- The picture of American education is clear. Investments in public schools are not keeping pace with the needs of our children, according to an education funding report released today by the National Education Association (NEA).

Last fall, nearly 400,000 additional children entered the nation's classrooms, representing the 19th consecutive rise in school enrollment. Yet, annual school revenues and spending are stagnant, as is the average salary necessary to attract an estimated 16,000 qualified teachers needed for this wave of students.

The report, Rankings & Estimates: Rankings of the States 2003 and Estimates of School Statistics 2004, shows slight increases from the previous year in the average expenditure per student enrolled in a K-12 school, the average revenue that communities collect for school expenses and the average salary of a public school teacher.

The report, which analyzes data from state education departments, suggests that troubled times may lie ahead.

State and local governments -- in the midst of budget crises and struggles to comply with the rigid demands of the so-called No Child Left Behind law -- still provide the lion's share of education funding. On average, revenues from those state and local coffers have shown little growth over the past year or over the decade. The average teacher salary has not kept pace with inflation. Since 1993, salaries have actually declined in a third of the country.

President Reg Weaver, on behalf of 2.7 million NEA educators, said the annual study begs an answer to two important questions: Can spending keep up with students' needs, and are we focusing our limited resources in the best areas?

"Public schools are the cornerstone of our democracy," he said. "We must make them places where students can-and will-succeed. Funding is fundamental to reform."

Weaver added that financial sanctions, expensive bureaucracy and mandatory testing required by the federal law threaten to drain scarce state and local school resources and hinder the ability of public schools to keep quality educators and maintain vital student services.       

"Too often, educators are asked to fulfill an important mission, but they are not given the support and compensation to remain in the profession," Weaver said. "It is unrealistic to expect student achievement to improve while cash-strapped states and local districts are forced to lay off public school employees or eliminate enriching classes and activities."

NEA continues to praise the goals of No Child Left Behind, but called on policymakers to support reforms with proven track records: reduced class sizes, early childhood education, parental and community involvement, professional development for educators and after-school programs. The Rankings and Estimates report has presented statistics on school spending, revenues and staff salaries since the late 1960s.

Key Facts from this year's report:

National:

• The average expenditure per-student in K-12 public schools was $7,875 in 2002-03, a 4.6 percent rise over the previous year. In comparison, spending for this school year, 2003-04, was estimated to increase by 3.6 percent (Table 5.3).
• The average public school teacher salary for 2002-03 was $45,891, a 2.8 percent increase over the previous year. In comparison, the average salary for this school year, 2003-04, was estimated to increase by 2.0 percent (Table 3.6).
• The average local, state and federal government revenue per K-12 student in fall enrollment, 2001-02 was $8,718. Total revenues for public schools increased 4.3 percent in 2002-03 from the previous year. Totals for 2003-04 were estimated to increase just 4.9 percent from the previous year (Tables F-1 and 4.1)

State:

• States with the highest per-pupil spending for 2002-03: New York ($11,588), Connecticut ($11,378), New Jersey ($11,103), Massachusetts ($10,353) and Delaware ($10,270) (Table H-11).
• Lowest per-pupil spending for 2002-03: Utah ($4,907), Arizona ($5,197), Alabama ($5,418), Arkansas ($5,789) and Mississippi ($5,822) (Table H-11).
• States with the highest average teacher salary for 2002-03: California ($56,283), Connecticut ($55,367) and New Jersey ($54,158) (Table C-11).
• Lowest average teacher salary for 2002-03: South Dakota ($32,416), North Dakota ($33,869) and Mississippi ($34,555) (Table C-11).
• Average teacher salaries declined in 18 states over the past 10 years in real, inflation-adjusted dollars. The largest declines were Alaska (-16.6%), Connecticut (-10.3%), Kansas (-9.9%), New York (-7.7%),
  Wisconsin (-6.7%) and Vermont (-6.7%) (Table C-14).

The full report, "Rankings & Estimates: Rankings of the States 2003 and Estimates of School Statistics 2004,"   (PDF, 127 pages, 1 MB) is available online.

May 26, 2004

Contact:
Anjetta McQueen , NEA Public Relations (202) 822-7251

Michael Pons, NEA Public Relations (202) 822-7595

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The National Education Association is the nation's largest professional
employee organization, representing more than 2.7 million elementary and
secondary teachers, higher education faculty, education support
professionals, school administrators, retired educators and students
preparing to become teachers.