School Funding

Learn more about how K-12 schools and districts raise money, set budgets, and spend funds
An illustration of three school leaders at a desk and one is holding an umbrella. They are all looking up into the sky where a sun is peeking through several clouds that are depicting dollar bills.
Illustration by Robert Neubecker for Education Week
Education Funding From the Feds on Down, School Funding Is Uncertain. What to Know
Federal turbulence during the Trump administration highlights the precarity of state and local funding, too.
Mark Lieberman, August 3, 2026
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7 min read
Image of a person on a unicycle juggling icons representing: computers, calendar, planning documents, financial documents, desk with lunch bag and coffee mug.
Robert Neubecker for Education Week
School & District Management From Our Research Center 75% of Educators Expect Student Behavior to Be a Challenge This Year. What Else?
Students themselves are top of mind, even as districts face financial headwinds and broader uncertainty.
Evie Blad, August 3, 2026
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6 min read
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San Francisco Unified School District Superintendent Maria Su, right, testifies during a House Education and Workforce Committee hearing on parental rights and school content policies on June 10, 2026 in Washington. More superintendents are pointing to financial pressures and enrollment as top concerns.
Kevin Wolf/AP Photo
School & District Management Why Superintendents’ Top Concerns Changed Fast in 2026
Budgets and enrollment are now top of mind for district leaders, a big change from last year.
Evie Blad, July 21, 2026
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3 min read
The Los Angeles Unified School District, LAUSD headquarters building is seen in Los Angeles, Sept. 9, 2021. The 1776 Project Foundation targeted in its lawsuit on Tuesday a Los Angeles Unified School District policy that provides smaller class sizes and other benefits to schools with predominantly Hispanic, Black, Asian or other non-white students. It dates back to 1970 and 1976 court orders that required the district to desegregate its schools.
The Los Angeles Unified School District headquarters building is seen in Los Angeles, on Sept. 9, 2021. The Los Angeles County Office of Education is warning that the district could be insolvent next year.
Damian Dovarganes/AP
School & District Management L.A. Unified School District Faces ‘Severe’ Signs of Insolvency
The Los Angeles Unified School District faces “severe” indications that it will be insolvent by November 2027.
Jaweed Kaleem, Howard Blume, and Kori McNair, Los Angeles Times, July 10, 2026
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5 min read
People stand at the counter of a pharmacy in the Queens borough of New York City, on Nov. 18, 2025. President Trump has made certain drug prices drop and has made deals with pharmaceutical companies to continue to keep prices down.
People stand at the counter of a pharmacy in the Queens borough of New York City, on Nov. 18, 2025. School district leaders in a new survey identified rising prescription drug costs as one leading cause for rising health insurance premiums that are straining district budgets.
Anthony Behar/Sipa via AP
Budget & Finance Rising Healthcare Costs Force School District Budget Tradeoffs
The growing cost of such a large expense in school district budgets requires tradeoffs, a new survey shows.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, June 26, 2026
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4 min read
Chicago Public Schools CEO Macquline King prepares for a Board of Education meeting on April 8, 2026 .
Chicago Public Schools CEO Macquline King prepares for a Board of Education meeting April 8, 2026. The district faces a roughly $733 million shortfall for the coming school year, driven by funding pressures and declining enrollment that have prompted job cuts in school systems nationwide.
Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune via TNS
Recruitment & Retention Layoff Warnings Hit Thousands of School Employees
Seven of the nation's 10 largest districts are looking to cut staff as pandemic-era funding runs out and enrollment keeps falling.
Erin Hudson, Bloomberg News, June 16, 2026
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5 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
School Choice & Charters Opinion Microschools Are Booming. Will They Have the Funds to Grow?
This venture can help “small schools” secure space, improve facilities, and grow enrollment.
Rick Hess, June 16, 2026
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6 min read
Graduation cap and dollars. Scholarship or student loan concept.
Getty
School Choice & Charters How Can Public Schools Participate in Trump's Federal Choice Program?
The Trump administration has confirmed public schools can receive federal scholarship funds. Here's how.
Matthew Stone, Evie Blad & Mark Lieberman, June 11, 2026
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7 min read
Cafeteria worker Nuria Alvarenga serves lunch to students through a service window at Firebaugh High School in Lynwood, Calif. on Wednesday, April 3, 2024. Demand for school lunches has increased after California guaranteed free meals to all students regardless of their family's income. Now, districts are preparing to compete with the fast food industry for employees after a new law took effect guaranteeing a $20 minimum wage for fast food workers.
A cafeteria worker serves students at Firebaugh High School in Lynwood, Calif., on April 3, 2024. School districts are increasingly uncertain about whether they can rely on federal education funds, $7 billion of which were delayed for weeks last July, prompting a more conservative approach to budgeting in some places.
Richard Vogel/AP
Education Funding Districts Brace for the Unexpected as Federal Funding Troubles Linger
Last year's formula funding delay has prompted some districts to budget more cautiously.
Mark Lieberman, June 11, 2026
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7 min read
This is an aerial shot of a large public high school complex shot on a Sunday with nobody around. This image features multiple buildings, a running track, football fields, baseball diamonds, tennis courts parking lots and a residential neighborhood surrounding the image. Shot from the open window of a small plane.
Illustration by Education Week + Getty
School & District Management Closing a School? Don't Expect to Save Money, a New Study Warns
The hope is that closing schools can reduce fixed costs. A new study looks into whether that happens.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, June 11, 2026
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5 min read
Tue., June 09, 2026, 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. ET
Budget & Finance Webinar Creative Approaches to K-12 Budget Realities
What are districts prioritizing in 2026? New survey data reveals emerging K-12 budgeting trends.
Register
June 9, 2026
Gas prices are displayed at a gas station in Wheeling, Ill., on May 14, 2026.
Prices on display at a gas station in Wheeling, Ill., on May 14, 2026. Most school districts in a new survey say they're over budget for fuel costs as prices, particularly for diesel needed to keep school buses running, remain high as the Iran war continues.
Nam Y. Huh/AP
School & District Management High Diesel Prices and Schools: How Districts Are Keeping Buses on the Road
A new survey of school district leaders breaks down what they're already doing to keep buses running.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens & Maya Riser-Kositsky, May 20, 2026
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2 min read
A full lot of parked school buses
School buses are parked at the Dayton Public Transportation center on Thursday, August 21, 2025 in Dayton, Ohio. School districts are already feeling the strain on their budgets as they buy diesel at elevated prices for their school buses.
Patrick Aftoora-Orsagos/AP
School & District Management Schools Brace for Impact as Fuel Prices Climb
Districts are tightening budgets as transporting students and heating buildings grow more costly.
Mark Lieberman & Caitlynn Peetz Stephens, May 19, 2026
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6 min read
The Los Angeles Unified School District, LAUSD headquarters building is seen in Los Angeles, Sept. 9, 2021.
The Los Angeles Unified School District, LAUSD headquarters building is seen in Los Angeles, Sept. 9, 2021.
Damian Dovarganes/AP
School & District Management LAUSD Tries to Reclaim $22 Million After Alleged Money-Laundering Scheme
A district manager allegedly steered work to a company in exchange for kickbacks, a lawsuit claims.
Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, May 12, 2026
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6 min read