Giving Compass' Take:

• This report lays out funding sources and district spending for public elementary school districts in the 2014-2015 school year, the fiscal year 2015.

• Where are the disparities in funding and spending? Which districts are doing the most with their money? 

• Find out how much states are spending and achieving. 

This First Look report presents data on public elementary and secondary education revenues and
expenditures at the local education agency (LEA) or school district level for fiscal year (FY)
2015. Specifically, this report includes findings for the following types of school district finance
data:

  •  Current expenditure totals and current expenditure per pupil amounts by state and for the
    100 largest LEAs;
  • Federal, state, and local revenues for the 100 largest LEAs;
  • Median revenues per pupil and median current expenditures per pupil by geographic
    region and locale;
  • Current expenditure totals and current expenditure per pupil amounts by function and
    object, by state and for the two largest LEAs in each state;
  • Federal revenues by program and local revenues by source, by state;
  • Revenues per pupil by poverty quartile and state; and
  • Capital outlay expenditures by state.

In FY 15, current expenditures per pupil in the 100 largest public school districts by enrollment ranged from a low of $5,724 in Alpine School District, Utah to a high of $21,980 in New York City School District, New York. In addition to New York City School District, current expenditures per pupil were at least 30 percent higher than the national average of $11,318 in Boston City Schools, Massachusetts ($21,552); Anchorage School District, Alaska ($17,046); Baltimore City Schools, Maryland ($15,818); Howard County Public Schools, Maryland ($15,714); and Montgomery County Public Schools, Maryland ($15,152).

Median current expenditures per pupil in independent charter school districts were lower than median current expenditures per pupil in noncharter and mixed school districts in 23 out of the 27 states that met reporting standards for reporting finance data for independent charter school districts.

On a national basis, $239.3 billion or 36.6 percent of total revenues for public and elementary/secondary school districts were derived from local property taxes and parent government contributions8 in FY 15. The percentage of revenues derived from local property taxes and parent government contributions exceeded 40 percent in 14 states and the District of Columbia; fell between 30 and 40 percent in 11 states; fell between 20 and 30 percent in 16 states; and was lower than 20 percent in 9 states.