Study puts Nevada 44th in spending on students

LAS VEGAS — A federal study ranks Nevada 44th in the nation in per-pupil spending on education.

The National Center for Education Statistics report made public Tuesday analyzed public school expenditures and revenue in 50 states and Washington, D.C.

The Las Vegas Sun reports (http://bit.ly/15MOzyN ) the national average in per-pupil spending was $10,658 during fiscal year 2011.

Utah spent the least, at $6,326 per student.

Washington, D.C., spent the most, at $20,793.

Nevada spent an average of $8,411 per student in fiscal 2011. That’s a little more than $2,200 less than the national average.

The report is for the federal Education Department.

It says Nevada spent about $3.7 billion for public schools in 2011.

About 60 percent of that amount, or $2.2 billion, went to classroom instruction and student support services.