Variations of this question are often asked: “Are we spending too much, too little or just the right amount on education?” I thought it might be useful to have a look at some local, state, federal and global information. Click to view the charts in detail:

Madison School District Enrollment: 1994-2007 (the demographics have changed during this time)

Madison School District Budgets: 1995-2009

Percentage of Wisconsin General Purpose State Tax Revenue Spent on K-12 School Districts: 1972-2007

Wisconsin State Tax Dollars Spent on K-12 School Districts: 1972-2007

US Government Tax Revenue, by Source: 1965-2005

Composition of US Government Spending: 1965-2005

Total US Governement Debt, as a percentage of GDP

Wisconsin General Purpose Revenue Tax Receipts by Category: 1971-2007

Global Distribution of public expenditure on Education: ages 5 to 25

Data via the Madison School District (various budget documents and statistics), The Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, I.O.U.S.A: One Nation, Under Stress, in Debt and the UNESCO Institute for Statistics Database.
US Bureau of Labor Statistics: Consumer Price Index. $1000 in 1995 requires $1443.33 according to their inflation calculator, while $1000 in 1972 requires $5,262.30 in 2008.
November Madison School District Planned November, 2008 Referendum notes & links. Tax climate notes & links: When is a Tax Cut Really a Tax Hike by Gene Epstein, 20 Reasons to Kill Corporate Taxes by James Pethokoukis, I.O.U.S.A the Movie, the Economist: Inflation’s Last Hurrah and Dave Blaska on the proposed referendum.