BOSTON (WHDH) - A new report from the federal government found the City of Boston is paying more money per student than any other major city. Boston Public Schools is spending more than $31,000 per student.
Mayor Michelle Wu and BPS Superintendent Mary Skipper responded to the new data, which was in the 2021 Annual Survey of School System Finances released earlier this month by the U.S. Census Bureau.
“We always want to be fiscally responsible in everything we do,” Skipper said.
Boston tops the list of the 100 school systems with the most students, spending $31,397. New York comes in second, spending $29,931. Washington D.C. is third, spending $24,535 in per pupil expenditure.
“The cost piece of it should never be driving as the primary decision point (for) what we’re doing for the long term future of our school district,” Wu said. “It is about what will best serve our young people.”
There are a number of issues at play in the cost calculation. There are 4500 fewer students enrolled in Boston public schools compared to four years ago, which drives the per capita spending figures higher.
The superintendent of BPS – who has been in the role for a year – said the city is investing in its future by hiring staff and improving buildings.
“There were some much needed and long overdue investments that were made to bring our schools current in the ways they need to be,” Skipper said.
Fewer kids are in the schools and student performance has also been sliding since pre-pandemic levels. School officials say they’re building a foundation to change that.
The mayor said her own family has a lot riding on making the schools the best they can be.
“We need to put in whatever it takes,” Wu said. “ I am committed to that. I have my kids in the schools. We are going to make it happen, and we are making progress towards that every single day.”
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