Federal Spending Burst Nudges Up Uncle Sam's Share

By Joetta L. Sack

Washington

It's the conventional wisdom among lawmakers, educators, and pundits: The federal government's share of total K-12 education spending is about 7 percent.

That figure is used, depending on the speaker's point of view, to a) decry Washington's paltry contribution to the nation's children and seek more, or b) argue that Washington, given its relatively small contribution, should tread lightly in asserting authority over local educators.

But that figure isn't exactly accurate anymore, given the large increases the federal education budget has received in recent years. In fact, the federal share of education spending has been on something of a roller coaster since the creation of the federal Department of Education. And it...