Education funding in California is distributed in a messy, complicated manner, with districts given different amounts of money to teach their students. On average, the state spends $7,746 on each student, according to data from the 2003-04 school year compiled by the National Center for Education Statistics. Texas spent $7,271 on each student during the same year. New York lavished $12,535 on each of its pupils, according to the center.

California voters support spending more money on public schools, but only if there is greater accountability over how that funding is dispensed,according to a new statewide poll released Thursday by Children Now, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization based in Oakland.