AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Gov. Paul LePage says U.S. census data backs up his assertion that Maine spends too much of its education budget on administration costs.

In Tuesday night’s State of the State address, LePage said Maine has the nation’s highest school administrative costs, more than twice the national average.

LePage spokeswoman Adrienne Bennett says the governor’s information came from the latest available census data. She says Census Bureau numbers show that 4.5 percent of Maine’s education spending in 2009-2010 went to general administration, while the average amount among states was 1.9 percent.