AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas’ per-pupil spending continues to fall farther below the national average, despite the state Supreme Court declaring the public school finance system barely constitutional last year.
The Texas arm of the National Education Association, the country’s largest teachers union, announced Wednesday data showing state spending per K-12 student declined by an average of $143 to $10,017 from the 2015-2016 school year to the current 2016-2017 one.
Texas ranks 36th nationwide in classroom spending, $2,555 less per student than the national average which rose to $12,572. Texas’ booming population also saw statewide classroom enrollment rise by about 80,000 children over the same period.
The Legislature cut $5.4 billion from schools in 2011 prompting a sweeping lawsuit. The Texas Supreme Court last May found the state’s school finance system deeply flawed but constitutional.