How are public schools funded? (2024)

FAQs

How are public schools funded? ›

Most common formula. The state decides the minimum amount that should be spent on each student. The state then calculates how much each district can pay, and fills the rest up to the minimum. The state guarantees a steady tax base by “matching” the tax effort of each district.

Public schools are funded through a combination of local, state, and federal dollars. In the 1920s, local governments provided more than 80 percent of school funding; today, state and local governments provide an equal share of school funding, with the federal government covering less than 10 percent.

About 81% of local funding for schools comes from property taxes. Other revenue comes from parents via parent-teacher associations and other groups. Schools also receive some private revenue from tuition, transportation fees, food services, district activities, textbook revenue, and summer school revenue.

The largest source of funding for elementary and secondary education comes from state government aid, followed by local contributions (primarily property taxes). The public education system provides the classes needed to obtain a General Education Development (GED) and obtain a job or pursue higher education.

School districts are funded through a combination of state, federal, and local dollars, many of which come with a dizzying list of regulations dictating how, where, and on whom they may be spent. Federal grants (Title, IDEA) are allocated to districts based mainly on student need.

The results reveal that roughly 84% of the variation in school spending effectiveness can be explained by instructional expenditures. These are predominantly driven by the trio of combined funding impacts of class size reductions, teacher salary increases, and reductions in teacher turnover.

Public schools should have adequate resources to assure all students a quality education that helps them reach the state's academic standards and meet their individual needs.

Several years of sustained spending increases improved student outcomes. A robust body of research shows that across a variety of outcomes such as test scores, graduation rates, and college attendance, student performance improves with greater spending.

Public schools are primarily funded through property tax dollars and other state and local taxes, but the way tax dollars travel to schools can be confusing.

How does lack of funding affect students? ›

However, in underfunded schools, students often must deal with large class sizes, fewer advanced classes, lack of resources, less experienced teachers, and, in some cases, no teacher at all.

With less money, schools often cut their school-wide technology and material budgets. Teachers and media specialists who have researched and asked for specific products or items will find that these will not be available for their use.

Local Education Funding

Most of the money comes from property taxes, which are raised to coverall community services as well as education. All homeowners pay taxes based on a local assessment of their houses.

Most of the money for public education in California comes from two big sources: state income taxes and property taxes — in that order. These taxes power the education system, as well as many other functions of government. Let's back up the camera. It's helpful to put the big picture in context.

Among the 41 states with reported data, New York schools led the nation in per-pupil spending in 2021 and 2022, spending $26,571 in 2021 and $27,504 in 2022. Idaho spent the least, with $9,053 in 2021 and $9,670 in 2022, respectively. This data will be updated to include all states in spring 2024.

Norway reported the highest total expenditures on education institutions as a percentage of GDP (6.6 percent), followed by Chile (6.5 percent), Israel (6.2 percent), Australia (6.1 percent), and the United Kingdom and the United States (both 6.0 percent).

White and middle-class families leaving urban cores in previous decades devastated local tax bases, leaving many schools chronically underfunded. Because American schools have traditionally been funded largely through local property taxes, high-poverty districts often received paltry resources.

$14,347 The average amount spent per K-12 student nationwide, up from $13,501 in fiscal year 2020 and $10,608 a decade before. Adjusted for inflation, education funding per pupil nationwide has risen by about $1,800 in the last decade.