{"id":21338,"date":"2020-07-14T20:35:14","date_gmt":"2020-07-14T20:35:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=21338"},"modified":"2020-07-19T14:04:02","modified_gmt":"2020-07-19T14:04:02","slug":"federal-spending-covers-only-8-of-public-school-budgets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/federal-spending-covers-only-8-of-public-school-budgets\/","title":{"rendered":"Federal spending covers only 8% of public school budgets"},"content":{"rendered":"

David S. Knight<\/a>, University of Washington<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nCC BY-SA<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

State and local tax dollars cover the bulk of U.S. public school funding.<\/p>\n

The federal government spends just under US$55 billion per year on K-12<\/a> education, in addition to outlays for early childhood education<\/a> and post-secondary programs like loans and grants for college tuition<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s just 8%<\/a> of the total $720 billion it costs to run the nation\u2019s public schools during the 2017-18 school year, the most recent national data available.<\/p>\n

This amounts to around $1,100 per K-12 student.<\/p>\n

Federal funding has never surpassed 10%<\/a> of total public school funding, except from 2010 to 2012 when the federal government sought to reduce the school spending cuts<\/a> local and state governments made during the Great Recession<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 sent<\/a> $54 billion \u2013 the equivalent of $56.5 billion, adjusted for inflation, in spending today \u2013 to schools. That infusion most likely saved thousands of education jobs<\/a> from budget-based layoffs. In contrast, recent federal aid provided so far, through the March 2020 CARES Act, amounts to only about $13 billion<\/a> for school districts, with an extra $3 billion for governors to use for K-12 education at their discretion.<\/p>\n

[The Conversation\u2019s science, health and technology editors pick their favorite stories.<\/em> Weekly on Wednesdays<\/a>.]<\/p>\n

These funds may be spread even thinner if districts must allocate funds to neighboring private schools<\/a> based on enrollment levels. The Education Department, led by Betsy DeVos, issued guidance with this directive<\/a>, but several states including California<\/a> and Indiana<\/a> have pushed back, arguing that federal funds for private schools should be limited to aid targeting low-income students.<\/p>\n