December 11, 2019 11:14AM # Absent Further Review, the Spending Stands as Called By [Neal McCluskey](https://www.cato.org/people/neal-mccluskey) --- SHARE In a [new *Washington Post* op-ed](https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/12/10/all-reforms-world-wont-help-our-school-much-more-money/), University of Virginia Curry School of Education dean Robert Pianta offers an assertion that is shocking, at least if you follow education policy: “public funding for schools has actually *decreased* since the late 1980s, adjusting for constant dollars.” It is shocking because federal, inflation-adjusted data show nothing even close to that, as you can see in the chart below. ![K-12 spending since 1979-80, inflation-adjusted](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/2019-12/1980%20spending.png?itok=Ivy548eW) This spending data is well-known among wonks, and while it is open to some interpretation, I can find nothing supporting Pianta’s claim. His piece includes a link to a U.S. Commission on Civil Rights [report](https://www.usccr.gov/pubs/2018/2018-01-10-Education-Inequity.pdf), but I found nothing in it backing up his assertion. Bruce Baker of Rutgers, who is a supporter of Pianta’s argument that spending more on education would make a big difference, has also failed to see the basis for his claim. Of course, it is possible I am missing something, and I hope Pianta will clarify the assertion. But until he does, the play stands as called: inflation-adjusted K‑12 spending has risen substantially since the 1980s. ##### Related Tags [Education](https://www.cato.org/education), [Center for Educational Freedom](https://www.cato.org/center-educational-freedom) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).