Schools Only Spend 58% of Dollars in Classroom

From the Associated Press via the Journal Courier Online:

INDIANAPOLIS - The state budget agency says Indiana school districts are spending an average of 58 percent of their expenditures on student instruction.

Management and Budget Director Ryan Kitchell said today the statewide average for the 2008-09 school year is similar to previous years but still trails the nationwide average by 5 percentage points. He says if Indiana could reach the U.S. average, about $500 million more could be spent on classroom learning.

Classroom spending includes things like teacher salaries and textbooks. Costs for student transportation, food services, maintenance, construction and debt payments are not counted as classroom expenses.

When school construction and debt costs are excluded from the formula, schools spend an average of 72 percent on student instruction.

The original article can be found here.