The Census Bureau reported this past week that in 2005 an average of $8701 was spent per student in government schools.  That number in itself doesn't really say much because it doesn't provide a comparison to anything in particular. But it does offer a helpful starting point for running some numbers to analyze the business of government education.Let's assume the following:Each student "pays" his or her school $8700 a year for their education. Each student takes 6 classes a school year, making the per-class distribution of funds $1450 per class. Each teacher is paid the 2004-05 national average (source) of $47,600 (rounded down from $47,602), which does not include associated benefits costs.  To give some indication of benefits, tack on 25% [in government employment the benefits may be higher, but this figure is realistic in the private sector -ed.] bringing teacher compensation to $59,500. Given a secondary school teacher's schedule, each teacher teaches 5...(Read Full Post)