One of the region's council is among the bottom ten local authorities in the country in terms of what it spends on each primary school child, according to a study.
North Yorkshire County Council spends £2,157 per pupil each year, according to an analysis of Audit Commission figures compiled by the GMB union.
Newcastle City Council was the only authority in the region to be in the top 75, spending £3,146 per pupil.
In Darlington, the figure was £2,462, placing it 113th of 146 local authorities.
Other ranking councils included Hartlepool (78), Dur-ham (81), South Tyneside (83), Redcar and Cleveland (84), Stockton (86), Middlesbrough (87), Gateshead (111), York (122), North Tyneside (130) and Sunderland (135).
Most of the top 20 local authorities were drawn from the London area.
The GMB said its study showed a huge variation in how much was spent in different parts of England, with spending ranging from £1,735 to £5,349.
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