DC's failing schools

This is without a doubt the most damning statistic I've ever heard about public schools: DC public schools spend about $10,000 more per pupil per year than the area's private schools. This comes from an editorial in the WaPo by Andrew J. Coulson, who explains his methodology in a blog post at the Cato Institute, where he's the director of the Center for Educational Freedom. While the stated cost of public schooling in DC is less than $10,000, adding in appropriated funds from other sources brings the total to almost $25,000 per child per year – which, as the editorial explains, is "on par with tuition at Sidwell Friends, the private school Chelsea Clinton attended in the 1990s."

...and, might I add, the Obamas' two children, Malia and Sasha.