Kansas spends less than the national average on K-12 education, the U.S. Census Bureau reported in mid-March, but even the lower price tag is a heavier burden on taxpayers than in most states.

The report came before the court-ordered April 12 deadline for the Kansas Legislature to boost school funding, with much of that effort devoted to avoiding a tax increase in the process.

Both sides of the debate found fresh ammunition in the Census Bureau analysis.

“I think the piece (of the report) that’s most significant is the continuous evidence of underspending, which is what the court has said,” said Christy Levings, president of the Kansas chapter of the National Education Assn.

But Alan Cobb, Kansas director of the anti-tax Americans for Prosperity, said the statistics showed the state’s taxpayers already spend enough.

“We have been and will continue to be a very generous state toward education,” Cobb said.

Officials across the spectrum warned against reading too much into the Census report. They said different studies had come up with different appraisals of state education spending.

“It’s hard to have an open and honest debate,” Cobb said, “because we can’t even agree on the numbers.”

The 129-page report said that during the 2002-2003 school year – the most recent year for which complete data is available from all states – Kansas spent $7,292 per student in public schools. The national average was $8,019; New Jersey led the nation with a tab of $12,202 per student.

During that year, Kansans spent $51.91 to support public education for every $1,000 that they earned. Nationwide, the average tax was $49.52 for every $1,000 earned.

State Rep. Tom Sloan, R-Lawrence, said it was difficult to decipher what the Census Bureau figures meant.

“I believe in measuring the outcomes of our investment in education,” he said. “So the ability of our children and grandchildren to compete for admission to the nation’s best colleges and universities, to succeed in their chosen jobs and professions is the most important indicator of whether we are spending the proper amount of money in education.”

Levings suggested the state could resolve the issue without hurting most taxpayers by raising taxes in higher income brackets and for corporations.

But Lawrence Supt. Randy Weseman, who has all but begged for more money to shore up the district’s finances, acknowledged that the report might present legislators with a conundrum.

“If you try to bring the per-pupil up to the national average, you’ll take a larger chunk of people’s income,” Weseman said. “That’s a problem. I don’t know how you get around that.”