The Education Intelligence Agency (hat tip: Joanne Jacobs) reports on the impact of the recession on school spending, based on the recent release on the 2009-2010 U.S. Census:

Looking at the nation as a whole, it appears the years of substantial growth in spending and hiring came to a grinding halt. The number of full-time equivalent K-12 teachers actually fell by about 38,000 – something that hasn’t happened in recent memory. Per-pupil spending grew by 1.1 percent – short of the inflation rate for 2010. Enrollment was essentially flat, growing by only 3,800 students nationwide.

Here’s EIA’s table of the 50 states’ trends in enrollment, hiring, and labor costs from the 2004-2005 school year through 2009-2010. In New Jersey, public school enrollment dropped by 0.4%; staff hiring increased by 0.4%; per pupil costs increased by 22%; and the amount per pupil based on staff compensation increased by 25.8%.