The Nation - News from Aug. 29, 1986

Education Secretary William J. Bennett said enrollment at the nation’s schools and colleges will top 57.4 million this fall, with almost one-fourth of all Americans attending classes. Education spending will also soar, jumping to $278.8 billion--$15.4 billion over 1985-86--during the coming year, and a record $4,263 per pupil will be spent in public elementary and secondary schools, he said. The biggest increase in enrollment will come at preschool and elementary schools, reflecting a surge in the birth rate since 1977.