A Nevada legislator says he’s witnessed the “systematic dismantling” of public K-12 education over recent budget cycles, with more than $700-million cut from K-12 during the Great Recession. (Associated Press, March 1, 2013.) While folks may recognize that “systematic dismantling” is just the next rhetorical step after “draconian cuts” and similar silly buzz phrases from previous years, they typically are less sure whether the numbers claims have any merit, let alone what we should do. What, then, are the real and central facts of actual state spending in recent years and long-term on K-12 and other general-fund categories, versus the …