The Tennessee State Department of Education has a great web-site. They have a statistics link One of the links under statistics is the 2005-2006 Statistical Report. I 'saved-as' Table 50 - Expenditures - Current Expenditures Per ADA to find out where Rutherford County and Murfreesboro ranked in the state.
Please note I moved the comment at the bottom of the state's web-page to the top. In all fairness, I do not know if this chart is truly indicative of each county's local government's commitment to education. Some counties may pay lower teacher salaries than others. Others may have far more transportation expenses than others. I am not an accountant or a school superintendent or a journalist but the way I understand the comments these dollars represent county dollars for educating a student in a classroom. Federal and State dollars are excluded (I think I have that right.)
OUR Rutherford County Commissioners took five cents of the Rutherford County School Board's share of the property taxes and transferred it to the general fund for the 1998-1999 fiscal year. Since The County Commission voted 14-7 to not give them the five cents back or any other increase for the 1999-2000 fiscal year we went from 62nd in the state in '97-'98 to 64th in '98-'99 to 68th in '01 to 74th in '02 to 92nd in '03 to 98th in '04 to 118th in '05 and now up to 109th! Want to know more? A History of Our County's Wheel Tax and keep in mind now 108 County and/or City School systems now spend more per student in the the State Of Tennessee than our county does.
| 1 | *FRANKLIN | 3,648 | 37,847,798 | $10,374 |
| 2 | OAK RIDGE | 4,130 | 41,941,872 | $10,155 |
| 3 | ALCOA | 1,414 | 13,090,011 | $9,258 |
| 4 | DAVIDSON COUNTY | 66,631 | 615,605,830 | $9,239 |
| 5 | KINGSPORT | 6,039 | 52,599,935 | $8,709 |
| 6 | MEMPHIS | 107,859 | 939,263,212 | $8,708 |
| 7 | GREENEVILLE | 2,642 | 22,938,302 | $8,682 |
| 8 | MARYVILLE | 4,518 | 39,218,068 | $8,681 |
| 9 | CLINTON | 805 | 6,872,412 | $8,534 |
| 10 | BRISTOL | 3,550 | 30,091,773 | $8,476 |
| 11 | LAKE COUNTY | 856 | 7,186,470 | $8,398 |
| 12 | MANCHESTER | 1,166 | 9,604,681 | $8,240 |
| 13 | TULLAHOMA | 3,424 | 28,163,100 | $8,226 |
| 14 | CLEVELAND | 4,204 | 34,459,726 | $8,197 |
| 15 | HAMILTON COUNTY | 37,520 | 307,291,339 | $8,190 |
| 16 | FAYETTE COUNTY | 3,350 | 27,398,108 | $8,179 |
| 17 | ELIZABETHTON | 1,904 | 15,529,859 | $8,157 |
| 18 | MADISON COUNTY | 13,047 | 105,397,300 | $8,078 |
| 19 | ATHENS | 1,612 | 13,022,542 | $8,077 |
| 20 | HANCOCK COUNTY | 953 | 7,619,676 | $7,997 |
| 21 | JOHNSON COUNTY | 2,154 | 17,176,988 | $7,973 |
| 22 | PICKETT COUNTY | 638 | 5,088,293 | $7,970 |
| 23 | MURFREESBORO | 6,094 | 48,510,509 | $7,960 |
| 24 | JOHNSON CITY | 6,700 | 53,214,771 | $7,943 |
| 25 | CLAY COUNTY | 1,112 | 8,591,518 | $7,729 |
| 26 | UNION CITY | 1,353 | 10,460,250 | $7,729 |
| 27 | HARDEMAN COUNTY | 4,113 | 31,550,967 | $7,671 |
| 28 | DYER COUNTY | 3,137 | 23,956,525 | $7,636 |
| 29 | JACKSON COUNTY | 1,562 | 11,891,426 | $7,615 |
| 30 | ETOWAH | 353 | 2,688,467 | $7,613 |
| 31 | MOORE COUNTY | 930 | 7,077,693 | $7,610 |
| 32 | DYERSBURG | 3,327 | 25,263,037 | $7,594 |
| 33 | WAYNE COUNTY | 2,376 | 18,019,205 | $7,585 |
| 34 | HUMBOLDT | 1,343 | 10,178,187 | $7,580 |
| 35 | HAYWOOD COUNTY | 3,294 | 24,963,056 | $7,579 |
| 36 | UNION COUNTY | 2,819 | 21,343,360 | $7,570 |
| 37 | SCOTT COUNTY | 2,482 | 18,783,295 | $7,569 |
| 38 | GRUNDY COUNTY | 2,135 | 16,088,622 | $7,535 |
| 39 | CLAIBORNE COUNTY | 4,470 | 33,680,857 | $7,535 |
| 40 | NEWPORT | 685 | 5,133,214 | $7,498 |
| 41 | ROANE COUNTY | 6,974 | 52,278,830 | $7,496 |
| 42 | GILES COUNTY | 4,269 | 31,868,259 | $7,465 |
| 43 | ANDERSON COUNTY | 6,467 | 48,022,778 | $7,425 |
| 44 | SULLIVAN COUNTY | 11,555 | 85,727,006 | $7,419 |
| 45 | MAURY COUNTY | 10,664 | 79,037,289 | $7,411 |
| 46 | HUMPHREYS COUNTY | 2,857 | 21,148,481 | $7,403 |
| 47 | SEVIER COUNTY | 13,075 | 96,778,846 | $7,402 |
| 48 | PERRY COUNTY | 1,042 | 7,670,410 | $7,364 |
| 49 | MORGAN COUNTY | 3,066 | 22,423,287 | $7,313 |
| 50 | BENTON COUNTY | 2,363 | 17,157,394 | $7,261 |
| 51 | KNOX COUNTY | 50,536 | 366,837,393 | $7,259 |
| 52 | VAN BUREN COUNTY | 749 | 5,434,252 | $7,252 |
| 53 | *BRADFORD | 579 | 4,191,595 | $7,240 |
| 54 | HARDIN COUNTY | 3,536 | 25,596,063 | $7,238 |
| 55 | *LEBANON | 2,875 | 20,753,645 | $7,218 |
| 56 | STEWART COUNTY | 2,002 | 14,369,570 | $7,179 |
| 57 | FENTRESS COUNTY | 2,185 | 15,659,170 | $7,168 |
| 58 | *PARIS | 1,459 | 10,436,754 | $7,152 |
| 59 | WILLIAMSON COUNTY | 24,395 | 174,309,070 | $7,145 |
| 60 | BLOUNT COUNTY | 10,555 | 75,362,082 | $7,140 |
| 61 | COCKE COUNTY | 4,466 | 31,767,099 | $7,113 |
| 62 | FRANKLIN COUNTY | 5,579 | 39,655,385 | $7,108 |
| 63 | CARTER COUNTY | 5,588 | 39,678,357 | $7,100 |
| 64 | UNICOI COUNTY | 2,352 | 16,697,812 | $7,099 |
| 65 | HAWKINS COUNTY | 7,071 | 50,135,947 | $7,090 |
| 66 | LEXINGTON | 994 | 6,991,602 | $7,037 |
| 67 | HENRY COUNTY | 3,010 | 21,169,187 | $7,033 |
| 68 | DECATUR COUNTY | 1,485 | 10,435,046 | $7,027 |
| 69 | BELLS | 366 | 2,570,267 | $7,024 |
| 70 | BLEDSOE COUNTY | 1,790 | 12,542,229 | $7,006 |
| 71 | LAUDERDALE COUNTY | 4,211 | 29,495,612 | $7,005 |
| 72 | *ONEIDA | 1,240 | 8,682,568 | $7,002 |
| 73 | SHELBY COUNTY | 43,743 | 301,950,871 | $6,903 |
| 74 | LENOIR CITY | 2,082 | 14,360,466 | $6,899 |
| 75 | RHEA COUNTY | 3,758 | 25,905,517 | $6,893 |
| 76 | PUTNAM COUNTY | 9,460 | 65,154,507 | $6,887 |
| 77 | MEIGS COUNTY | 1,718 | 11,809,108 | $6,875 |
| 78 | CAMPBELL COUNTY | 5,583 | 38,298,762 | $6,860 |
| 79 | WASHINGTON COUNTY | 8,373 | 57,341,781 | $6,849 |
| 80 | MONROE COUNTY | 5,027 | 34,331,875 | $6,830 |
| 81 | HAMBLEN COUNTY | 8,958 | 61,171,746 | $6,829 |
| 82 | ROBERTSON COUNTY | 9,708 | 66,213,819 | $6,821 |
| 83 | WARREN COUNTY | 5,912 | 40,241,368 | $6,807 |
| 84 | DICKSON COUNTY | 7,812 | 53,137,889 | $6,802 |
| 85 | ROGERSVILLE | 644 | 4,368,551 | $6,780 |
| 86 | FAYETTEVILLE | 943 | 6,355,145 | $6,740 |
| 87 | COFFEE COUNTY | 4,169 | 28,090,567 | $6,738 |
| 88 | MARION COUNTY | 3,857 | 25,964,502 | $6,732 |
| 89 | MARSHALL COUNTY | 4,776 | 32,134,321 | $6,729 |
| 90 | MONTGOMERY COUNTY | 25,288 | 170,035,354 | $6,724 |
| 91 | DAYTON | 668 | 4,489,768 | $6,721 |
| 92 | TROUSDALE COUNTY | 1,237 | 8,312,733 | $6,720 |
| 93 | SWEETWATER | 1,393 | 9,357,823 | $6,717 |
| 94 | *MILAN | 1,965 | 13,198,191 | $6,716 |
| 95 | SUMNER COUNTY | 23,870 | 160,299,429 | $6,716 |
| 96 | CANNON COUNTY | 2,041 | 13,683,322 | $6,704 |
| 97 | POLK COUNTY | 2,454 | 16,432,622 | $6,696 |
| 98 | DEKALB COUNTY | 2,515 | 16,805,773 | $6,683 |
| 99 | LOUDON COUNTY | 4,725 | 31,551,501 | $6,677 |
| 100 | ALAMO | 473 | 3,158,895 | $6,674 |
| 101 | JEFFERSON COUNTY | 6,859 | 45,739,117 | $6,669 |
| 102 | LAWRENCE COUNTY | 6,384 | 42,063,425 | $6,588 |
| 103 | HICKMAN COUNTY | 3,696 | 24,340,710 | $6,586 |
| 104 | OVERTON COUNTY | 3,138 | 20,467,136 | $6,522 |
| 105 | MCNAIRY COUNTY | 4,033 | 26,247,460 | $6,508 |
| 106 | GRAINGER COUNTY | 3,214 | 20,901,580 | $6,503 |
| 107 | OBION COUNTY | 3,857 | 25,056,793 | $6,496 |
| 108 | LINCOLN COUNTY | 3,811 | 24,751,504 | $6,494 |
| 109 | RUTHERFORD COUNTY | 31,071 | 201,492,655 | $6,485 |
| 110 | MCMINN COUNTY | 5,534 | 35,865,522 | $6,480 |
| 111 | CHEATHAM COUNTY | 6,536 | 42,322,370 | $6,475 |
| 112 | GREENE COUNTY | 6,769 | 43,661,392 | $6,450 |
| 113 | HOUSTON COUNTY | 1,359 | 8,766,552 | $6,450 |
| 114 | TIPTON COUNTY | 10,854 | 69,933,045 | $6,443 |
| 115 | LEWIS COUNTY | 1,757 | 11,279,862 | $6,421 |
| 116 | *W. CARROLL | 1,005 | 6,448,869 | $6,415 |
| 117 | *TRENTON | 1,358 | 8,711,282 | $6,413 |
| 118 | CROCKETT COUNTY | 1,711 | 10,968,688 | $6,410 |
| 119 | HENDERSON COUNTY | 3,400 | 21,694,031 | $6,381 |
| 120 | CUMBERLAND COUNTY | 6,766 | 43,113,555 | $6,372 |
| 121 | *RICHARD CITY | 329 | 2,077,448 | $6,317 |
| 122 | SEQUATCHIE COUNTY | 2,000 | 12,588,002 | $6,294 |
| 123 | *HOLLOW ROCK-BR | 701 | 4,367,697 | $6,233 |
| 124 | MACON COUNTY | 3,525 | 21,867,880 | $6,204 |
| 125 | SMITH COUNTY | 3,087 | 19,058,493 | $6,174 |
| 126 | WHITE COUNTY | 3,755 | 23,020,538 | $6,131 |
| 127 | BEDFORD COUNTY | 6,905 | 42,289,285 | $6,125 |
| 128 | WILSON COUNTY | 12,833 | 78,591,288 | $6,124 |
| 129 | WEAKLEY COUNTY | 4,682 | 28,659,280 | $6,122 |
| 130 | BRADLEY COUNTY | 9,113 | 55,328,957 | $6,072 |
| 131 | *HUNTINGDON | 1,236 | 7,481,535 | $6,052 |
| 132 | *S. CARROLL | 404 | 2,413,523 | $5,973 |
| 133 | CHESTER COUNTY | 2,410 | 14,199,260 | $5,893 |
| 134 | *MCKENZIE | 1,303 | 7,503,306 | $5,759 |
| 135 | *GIBSON CO. SPEC. | 2,679 | 15,412,059 | $5,753 |
| 136 | CARROLL COUNTY | 8 | 2,992,066 | NA |
| 137 | GIBSON COUNTY | NA | NA | NA |