Corrupt officials spent $11,961 per student

"Does higher per-pupil funding generate better academic results? Not if the money is wasted," The Oklahoman editorializes today ("School funding waste").

The State Board of Education recently ordered mandatory annexation of the Grant-Goodland Public School due to financial misconduct, falsified records and more. This year the FBI investigated Grant-Goodland for suspected embezzlement involving the local school board chair, district superintendent and deputy treasurer. An independent audit determined that misconduct had occurred involving hundreds of thousands of dollars. An Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs database, which provides information obtained from the state government's Oklahoma Cost Accounting System, shows during the 2014-15 school year Oklahoma schools spent an average $9,724 per student. Per-pupil funding at Grant-Goodland totaled $11,961, well above the state average and higher than even the 2014 national average estimated by the U.S. Census. Grant-Goodland ranked among the top fifth of Oklahoma schools in per-pupil funding. And it didn't do the kids a bit of good.