Despite being ranked as one of the worst public school systems in the United States, taxpayers are spending an enormous sum of money to “educate” students in our nation’s capital.

Educating a public school student in the Washington, D.C., region costs taxpayers about 45 percent more than it did in 2002, according to district budget figures, with that robust influx of dollars funding only modest gains in student performance.

The region’s per-student expenditure was about $14,240 in 2009, using comparable numbers from D.C. Public Schools, Montgomery and Prince George’s county schools, and Fairfax, Arlington and Alexandria City schools. In 2002, it was about $9,800.

But by all means, let’s deny school choice to students in the district (and elsewhere, for that matter). Clearly throwing more money at the problem disaster will fix the issues. Maybe if we spend the equivalent of a year at Harvard on each student the district’s schools will move up a spot in the rankings. Thank you, liberal education policies.

Via Reason.