Education Week: California schools are significantly underfunded

I found something interesting on the California Department of Education website:
http://www.closingtheachievementgap.org/downloads/p16_ctag_report.pdf The following information is on page 2 of the report:

Although California maintains some of the highest standards in the nation for
what students are expected to know and be able to do, its schools are significantly
underfunded. For instance, Education Week’s “Quality Counts 2008” reports
the following statistics:

• Although California has the most challenging student population in the
nation, per pupil spending is a full $1,892 below the national average when
adjusted for regional cost of living.

• California spends $5,137 below New York and $5,171 below New Jersey.

A mere 3 percent of the state's students attend schools in districts where per pupil
expenditures are at or above the national average, compared with 37 percent in
Louisiana, 16 percent in Florida, and an extraordinary 95 percent in Maryland.


The state can no longer ignore the fact that major segments of the next generation
continue to fall short of their potential. Quite simply, the achievement gap
among student subgroups is a threat to their future and to the future economic
health and security of California and of this nation. This need not be.