Revenues and Expenditures for Public K-12 Education Increase for Third Consecutive Year

Revenues and expenditures increased in public K-12 education for the third consecutive school year in 2015–16 (Fiscal Year 2016).

A new report from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) provides information about State-level revenues and expenditures in the nation’s public K-12 education system for school year 2015-16.  The report uses data from the FY 16 provisional National Public Education Financial Survey data file that state education agencies in all 50 states and the District of Columbia submit to NCES each year.

Total revenues increased by 4 percent from Fiscal Year (FY) 15 to FY 16, local revenues increased by 3.7 percent, state revenues increased by 4.9 percent, and federal revenues slightly increased by 1.1 percent, after adjusting for inflation.

The three years of spending increases reverse four consecutive years of expenditure declines from FY 09 to FY 13, after adjusting for inflation. Current expenditures for public elementary and secondary education across the nation increased by 2.9 percent between FY 15 and FY 16, following on the heels of an increase of 3.2 percent the previous year.

Nationally, per pupil expenditures rose to $11,841 in FY 16, an increase of 2.8 percent from FY 15, after adjusting for inflation.

At the state level, current expenditures per pupil ranged from $7,006 in Utah to $22,231 in New York.
In addition to New York, current expenditures per pupil were at least 40 percent higher than the national average in Washington, DC ($21,135), Connecticut ($19,615), New Jersey ($19,041), Vermont ($19,023), Alaska ($17,510), and Massachusetts ($16,986).

Current expenditures per pupil increased by 3 percent or more in 9 states and by 1 to less than 3 percent in 27 states between FY 15 and FY 16. These increases were highest in California for the second consecutive year (8.6 percent), Washington (6.8 percent), New York (6.5 percent), Hawaii (6.2 percent), and Pennsylvania (4.6 percent).

This First Look report presents state-level data on revenues by source and expenditures by function for public elementary and secondary education for school year 2015-16. A report on district-level revenues and expenditures will be released later this year.