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ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Many Buncombe County students will be sharing textbooks this year.
The Asheville Citizen-Times reported (http://avlne.ws/1mIvX8O) that many other students will be using textbooks that are more than 10 years old.
The old books and sharing policies come as the school system deals with continued reductions in money for new textbooks.
Eric Moore with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction says state funding for textbooks has dropped from about $111 million in the 2009010 school year to about $23 million this year.
The per-student funding over the same time frame has dropped from about $76 to about $15.
Buncombe County's share has dropped from about $1.7 million in 2008-09 to about $368,000 last year.
State officials say the average cost of a textbook is around $60.
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Information from: The Asheville Citizen-Times, http://www.citizen-times.com
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