> According to new Annual Survey of School System Finances tables, released today by the U.S. Census Bureau, per pupil spending for elementary and secondary pub

> According to new Annual Survey of School System Finances tables, released today by the U.S. Census Bureau, per pupil spending for elementary and secondary public education (pre-K through 12th grade) for all 50 states and the District of Columbia increased by 5.0% to $13,187 per pupil during the 2019 fiscal year, compared to $12,559 per pupil in 2018. This is the largest increase in more than a decade. Data for this report covers the fiscal year before the COVID-19 pandemic. (source: https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2021/public-school-spending-per-pupil.html https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2021/public-s...) Elsewhere, I see an average US K-12 class size of ~20 students. SO: 20 x $13k = $260k. Vs. (from other numbers in the article) an all-teacher average salary in the US of just $65k. SO...how the f* is non-teacher-salary overhead eating up 75% of the education budget? "Good Old Days" story: My grandmother was a schoolteacher. In a 1-room country schoolhouse. With (usually) far more than 20 students, from 1st through 8th grades. Overhead consisted of a simple 1-room wooden school building, wood for the little stove that heated it, and the salary of the school district's Superintendent. He dropped by each of the little schools every Friday (probably on his own horse), to hand the teachers their paychecks.