NCES: States entered pandemic with smaller annual funding increases |
National per pupil spending crept up ever so slightly between fiscal years 2019 and 2020, just by 0.7%, to $13,489 per student, less than the 2.2% increase seen between fiscal 2018 and 2019, the year prior to the pandemic, according to a new analysis from the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics. However, the most recent data only accounts for about three months of COVID-19 school closures, and many states had not yet disbursed federal pandemic relief funds. Per pupil spending overall was highest in the Northeast, but increases in student spending were the greatest in New Mexico, Illinois, Kansas, Texas and Indiana. States with the largest decreases in per pupil spending included Delaware, Connecticut, Arizona, Alaska and Arkansas. In Delaware, declines were mostly a result of decreases in reported state spending on district employee benefits, data the state is currently reviewing and may update. New Mexico’s increase followed growth in spending on instructional salaries and student support services.