Baffling math of school costs

Newly released numbers show New York State is the national champion in education . . . spending. The U.S. per-pupil average is $10,499, but New York was 75 percent over that, at $18,126. The numbers also show that those who claim Long Island education is different from the rest of the state are right in at least one respect: Long Island spends $24,000 per pupil.

There are three questions to be answered: Can we afford this, is it in line with the cost of living and are we getting our money's worth? The answers? No, no and no.

Utah spent the least per pupil, $6,356, about a third of New York's tab, and an argument can be made that if New Yorkers earn three times as much as Utah residents, we can spare the cash. But the median income for a family of four in this state is, at $83,000, only 20 percent higher than in Utah.

The relative spending could also be justified if it were three times as expensive to live in New York as Utah, but the cost of living in New York is only 35 percent higher than in Utah.

And if our kids were getting triple the education of those frugal Utah folk, we might not mind the cost. Unfortunately, New York ranks 46th nationally for SAT scores, while Utah is 17th (though with significantly lower participation).

If the spending disparity doesn't reflect differences in cost of living, income or educational outcomes between New York and Utah, what does it reflect? Maybe just that New York taxpayers are three times less smart.