MONTPELIER, Vt. – Vermont spent an average of $11,128 on each of its public school students, which is the fourth-highest per-pupil spending in the nation.

Only New Jersey, New York state and Washington, D.C., spent more in 2004, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

New Jersey spent $12,981 per pupil, New York spent $12,930, and the District of Columbia spent $12,801.

Vermont was not alone among its New England neighbors in having a high per-pupil spending level. Connecticut was fifth at $10,788; Massachusetts was sixth at $10,693; Rhode Island was 10th at $9,903; Maine was 11th at $9,534; and New Hampshire was 17th at $8,860, the Census Bureau said.

Education officials pointed out that Vermont has only 95,000 public school students spread among a relatively large number of small schools, which they said drove up per-pupil spending.

“We have more than 300 schools, some of them with very few kids in them,” said Bill Talbott, chief financial officer for the state Education Department. “A large part of the cost is the size of our schools, no question.”

There is one teacher in Vermont for every 11.3 students, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, another factor in the per-pupil spending.

“We’ve watched the size of school population drop while seeing virtually no change in the size of our direct instructional staff,” Talbott said.

The Vermont chapter of the National Education Association said voters support the spending levels. “We’re always going to be among the top spenders because Vermont citizens by and large want to keep their small community schools,” said Angelo Dorta, NEA president.

“They tend to support the full array of ancillary services and the personnel that go with them,” he said. “It is important to note, however, that while we may be among the top in per-pupil expenditures, we’re also among the top in student achievement.”

The Vermont Superintendents Association argued that the state’s investment in its schools was a good one. “The other point, though, is that we expect a lot of our schools – not only as a state, but as communities,” said association executive director Jeffrey Francis. “The services we provide in what is a very good education system do come with a price.”