Utah school districts dominate national list..

Schools • Large districts spend less in Utah than elsewhere.

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Utah is home to seven of the 10 lowest-spending, large school districts in the country, according to a report released Thursday.

The report, released by Govistics with the Center for Governmental Research, revealed that a school district in Meridian, Idaho, had the lowest per-pupil spending in the country in 2010. The report examined school districts with at least 25,000 students.

Utah dominated the rest of the list. The Canyons, Nebo, Granite, Davis, Alpine, Weber and Washington school districts spent the least on students compared to other districts of the same size in the U.S.

The Canyons District was the second lowest-spending, large district in the country, spending about $6,886 per student in 2010, according to the report. That was less than a quarter of what the highest-spending district in the country, the District of Columbia, spent in 2010: $29,409 per student.

Utah, in general, has the lowest base per-pupil spending in the country, largely because of the state's high proportion of kids to adults.

Govistics is a project of the Center for Governmental Research, a nonprofit that works to improve government and school district efficiency and effectiveness.

lschencker@sltrib.com

Twitter: @lschencker

Utah school districts dominate national list of low-spenders