Politics on the Hudson

The Census Bureau released a report today that shows New York spent the most per pupil of any state in the nation in the 2006-07 school year, spending $15,981 per pupil and more than 60 percent the national average of $9,666.

E.J. McMahon, director of the Manhattan Institute’s Empire Center for New York State Policy, points out on his blog that New York’s school spending of nearly $51 billion was less than only California, which has double the number of students.

McMahon argues that the high spending is the result of higher salaries and benefits. He said the New York’s spending on salaries and benefits came to $11,042 per pupil, 88 percent above the national average.

Here’s the Census report.