I call fraud on the Los Angeles School district.

Kling points us to a study by Adam Schaeffer which compares reported costs of spending per pupil vs actual costs. The LA schools spend 90% more than their accounting indicates. It is no wonder that a downturn bankrupts county governments.

Kling points out:

Remember that if there are 20 students in a classroom and spending is $15,000 per student, then school revenues are $300,000 per year. A teacher gets paid, say, $75,000 a year, including benefits. That still leaves $225,000 in profit, which gets divided into capital expenses and overhead. Mostly overhead. You will find that if the teacher to pupil ratio is 1 to 20 in the classroom, overall the adult to pupil ratio will be more like 1 to 6.

If you are a California resident then be warned that most of your school tax dollars are going to the adult administrators. The more we rely on federal taxation to accomplish local education, the greater the tax distortion and the less education the children get.

Yglesias would have us believe fraud is limited to the private sector. Likely Yglesias is simply part of public sector corruption.