Reply #15: And we spend about $29,000 per year per prisoner

[csziggy]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/03/us/03prison.html

According to the figures I found, states spend on average $8700 per student per year and many spend much less - Florida is cutting the budget per student per year from $6700 to $6200. http://www.reuters.com/article/2007/05/24/us-usa-education-spending-idUSN2438214220070524 and http://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2011/feb/17/michelle-rhee/michelle-rhee-tells-florida-legislators-spending-e/

The Politifact article on Michelle Rhee is interesting - not for the information on her but on the increased amounts spent on education and the testing. According to their information, the education system in this country has not really gotten that much worse. We just have not kept ahead of other countries.

Just think of what could be done if we spent $29,000 per student per year! And think of how many fewer people would be driven to crime if they could get good educations that would lead to good jobs!

Edited to add: I could not find the information I wanted to locate - how much of a percentage of money spent on schools these days is not spent teaching, but spent on the testing. Since most if not all of the NCLB tests are provided and scored by for profit companies, that is money taken directly out of the actual expenditures on teaching children. Testing is not education and that money should be budgeted separately and not considered part of our per student spending.