LI Districts Dominate Nationwide List On Per Student Spending

LONG ISLAND, NY — A new study found that 26 Long Island school districts are among those that spend the most money per student. The AAA State of Play recently released a list of the top 50 school districts in the nation that spend the most money on its pupils.

The number one spot went to the Syosset School District which spends $32,125 per student. Another Long Island school district, the Middle Country School District in Brookhaven, ranked at number 50, spending $22,881 per student.

The rankings came from the Census Bureau data from its annual survey of school system finances which compared the districts with 5,000 students or more across the country that had the highest total expenditures per pupil in 2018.

Out of the total list, the majority came from New York, most from Long Island.

"The federal government provides roughly $79 billion each year for primary and secondary education programs, but this funding is discretionary, which means the amount is set annually by Congress," the AAA State of Play analysis stated. "The amount of funding the federal government contributes to each state varies, with some states receiving less than 5 percent of their total from the federal government while others receive more than 16 percent from them."

Check out the full list of the Long Island school districts and how much they spend per student:

• Syosset School District, Syosset (#1 - $32,125 per pupil)
• Great Neck School District, Great Neck (#2 - $30,988 per pupil)
• Connetquot Central School District, Bohemia (#4 - $29,710 per pupil)
• Three Village School District, Setauket (#5 - $29,589 per pupil)
• Northport-East Northport School District, Northport (#7 - $28,811 per pupil)
• Bellmore-Merrick School District, Bellmore (#8 - $28,480 per pupil)
• Half Hollow School District, Dix Hills (#10 - $28,076 per pupil)
• Commack School District, Commack (#11 - $28,032 per pupil)
• Farmingdale School District, Farmingdale (#13 - $27,830 per pupil)
• Central Islip School District, Central Islip (#14 - $27,273 per pupil)
• Levittown School District, Levittown (#15 - $27,219 per pupil)
• Masspequa School District, Massapequa (#17 - $27,136 per pupil)
• Port Washington School District, Port Washington (#19 - $25,808 per pupil)
• East Meadow School District, East Meadow (#20 - $25,754 per pupil)
• South Huntington School District, South Huntington (#21 - $25,722 per pupil)
• Uniondale School District, Uniondale (#25 - $25,246 per pupil)
• Lindenhurst School District, Lindenhurst (#27 - $25,093 per pupil)
• Bay Shore School District, Bay Shore (#29 - $25,010 per pupil)
• Copiague School District, Copiague (#31 - $24,950 per pupil)
• Smithtown School District, Smithtown (#33 - $24,903 per pupil)
• Westbury School District, Old Westbury (#37 - $24,241 per pupil)
• Oceanside School District, Oceanside (#38 - $24,232 per pupil)
• Longwood School District, Middle Island (#42 - $23,830 per pupil)
• Hempstead School District, Hempstead (#43 - $23,203 per pupil)
• Freeport School District, Freeport (#44 - $23,202 per pupil)
• Middle Country School District, Brookhaven (#50 - $22,881 per pupil)