The state Department of Education on March 24 released the Comparative Spending Guide, a statistical report that details how local school districts in New Jersey are allocating their financial resources.

The guide provides local educators and citizens with information about a school district’s annual budget. It ranks similar school districts in 14 of 15 spending categories, such as total administrative costs or total classroom instruction, as well as four staffing indicators, such as student-teacher ratios and faculty-administrative staff ratios.

According to the new guide, total budgeted, comparative costs statewide average $11,554 in the current school year, up 3.8 percent from the previous year. The separate categories of classroom instruction and support services (such as guidance and nursing) account for $8,590, or 74.3% of the total comparative cost per pupil.