Rhode Island gets mediocre results in student performance even though its per-pupil spending is the eighth-highest in the nation, according to a new report from the Rhode Island Expenditure Council.
According to RIPEC, the state spends $3.66 billion on primary and secondary education each year, making for per-pupil spending of almost $23,000 a year.
Despite the high rate of spending, Rhode Island ranks 27th among states on average 4th grade and 8th grade math and reading skills.
The report by the business-backed fiscal watchdog found wide variations in spending and student outcomes among different communities, including a misalignment between resources and student need.
Despite falling enrollment in some communities, RIPEC said many districts have not adjusted their efforts accordingly, contributing to high spending and high staffing, but not boosted student performance.
“Rhode Islanders spend their tax dollars generously to support their schools,” RIPEC President/CEO Michael DiBiase said in a statement accompanying the report. “Yet decisions as to how over $3 billion is spent is largely left to local school committees and school leaders, with relatively little oversight or accountability as to whether these investments are efficient or effective.”
RIPEC made a series of recommendations with its report, including raising oversight of spending, increasing the share of spending on instruction and reducing non-instructional spending.
The report also suggests school districts look at consolidating. State Rep. Megan Cotter (D-Exeter) has been leading a charge on Smith Hill to incentivize creating regional school districts.
The report follows decades of rhetoric about the need to improve student performance in Rhode Island’s schools. And it comes as the state’s most visible district, Providence, returns to local control after a seven-year takeover by the state.
Student attendance remains an issue. Chronic absenteeism in schools is down, but remains higher than pre-pandemic levels, according to a RIPEC report released in March.
