I had a high school teacher get all freaked out at me the other day when I said we spend too much money on education in California.
He literally screamed at me. "What?!??! We only get $6800 a year per kid!!!"
I said "According to the state budget, we spend $10,800 per kid" and he called me a liar.
I showed him the budget numbers and his retort?? "Well, the state may spend that much, but we only get $6800/kid at the school level"...in other words, $4K gets spent for busses, administration, union benefits, etc
I told him that if he thought schools were underfunded, why not cut back on his retirement benefits "for the children" at which point he huffed, puffed, and walked away.
This is the definitive book on educational statistics that my friend Hanna wrote. It is obvious from the stats that the more money spent does not indicate an improvement in learning.
http://www.amazon.com/School-Figures-Data-behind-Debate/dp/0817928227/sr=1-1/qid=1161620736/ref=sr_1_1/102-9522109-3170567?ie=UTF8&s=books