School Funding

Learn more about how K-12 schools and districts raise money, set budgets, and spend funds
A group protesting school safety in Laurel County, K.Y., on Feb. 21, 2018. In the wake of a mass shooting at a Florida high school, parents and educators are mobilizing to demand more school safety measures, including armed officers, security cameras, door locks, etc.
A group calls for additional school safety measures in Laurel County, Ky., on Feb. 21, 2018, following a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., in which 14 students and three staff members died. Districts have invested billions in personnel and physical security measures in the 25 years since the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo.
Claire Crouch/Lex18News via AP
School Climate & Safety 25 Years After Columbine, America Spends Billions to Prevent Shootings That Keep Happening
Districts have invested in more personnel and physical security measures to keep students safe, but shootings have continued unabated.
Mark Lieberman, April 18, 2024
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9 min read
Image of people interacting and discussing data.
Courtesy of Allovue
Budget & Finance From Our Research Center Costs, Concerns, & Calls for Clarity in K-12 Finance
The second annual Allovue Education Finance Survey examines educators' views about school funding.
Holly Kurtz, April 10, 2024
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3 min read
Budget & Finance Quiz Quiz Yourself: How Much Do You Know About Education Finance?
Answer 7 questions about education finance.
April 10, 2024
Budget & Finance Whitepaper Costs, Concerns, & Calls for Clarity in K-12 Finance
The results of Allovue’s second annual Education Finance Survey suggest that educators are growing more concerned about their districts’ ...
April 10, 2024
Hourglass and Benjamin Franklin portrait on one hundred dollar bill.
iStock / Getty Images Plus
Budget & Finance Spending ESSER Funds Will Come Down to the Wire for Some Districts. Here's Why
Schools have until September to commit federal relief dollars. In some cases, spending every last penny could be tricky.
Mark Lieberman, April 5, 2024
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7 min read
Illustration of a graduation hat and mortar board on a stack of books being sawed around in a circle and about to fall through
iStock/Getty
Budget & Finance Readers Sound Off as Districts Face Tough Budget Decisions: 'What Else Is New?'
Educators and the public have plenty to say as potential layoffs loom.
Edér Del Prado, March 29, 2024
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1 min read
Pencil Eraser Erasing Drawn Figure
AndreyPopov/iStock/Getty
School & District Management Teacher Layoffs Are Mounting. How Districts Can Soften the Blow
Layoffs are coming in districts large and small. Here's how district leaders can handle them.
Caitlynn Peetz Stephens & Mark Lieberman, March 13, 2024
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8 min read
Conceptual image in blue: puzzle-shaped 100 American dollar banknote and red-colored question mark symbol.
Liz Yap from Education Week via iStock/Getty
Budget & Finance 4 Financial Headaches Schools May Not Be Able to Avoid This Year
Hiring challenges, new and potentially expensive state laws, and intensive audits are on the horizon.
Mark Lieberman, February 6, 2024
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6 min read
LeeAnn Kittle, executive director of sustainability at Denver Public Schools, helped develop projects such as the solar canopy in the parking lot of Northeast Early College in Denver.
LeeAnn Kittle, the executive director of sustainability for the Denver school district, stands by a solar canopy in the parking lot of Northeast Early College, one of the district's high schools.
Rachel Woolf for Education Week
School & District Management Q&A This Leader Channeled Students' Climate Anxiety Into Action. See How
LeeAnn Kittle partnered with student advocates to champion environmental sustainability in Denver's public schools.
Arianna Prothero, February 5, 2024
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3 min read
Ana Pasarella, the director of family and community engagement for Alvin ISD, pictured at the Alvin CTE Annex in Manvel, Texas, on Dec. 8, 2023.
Ana Pasarella, director of family and community engagement for the Alvin school district in Texas, talks to teachers and draws on her former experiences in the classroom to shape programs that help build and deepen connections between the district's schools and its students and families.
Callaghan O’Hare for Education Week
School & District Management Q&A How Teachers' Ideas Drive This Leader's Work on Districtwide Initiatives
Ana Pasarella, the director of family and community engagement for the Alvin ISD, shares her advice for running districtwide programs.
Ileana Najarro, February 5, 2024
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4 min read
Roll of dollar banknotes with colored pencils on the shelf.
iStock/Getty Images
Budget & Finance Most Districts Say They Don't Need More Time to Spend ESSER Dollars
Only 13 percent of districts surveyed by ASBO International said they plan to seek approval to spend the federal aid past the deadline.
Mark Lieberman, February 1, 2024
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2 min read
The solar panel array at Sheridan Elementary School in Sheridan, Ind., pictured on Aug. 24, 2017. School districts installing solar are trying to complete their project's before Dec. 31, ahead of changes in Indiana's net metering law.
The solar panel array at Sheridan Elementary School in Sheridan, Ind., pictured on Aug. 24, 2017. FEMA will now reimburse schools rebuilding from disasters for the cost of solar panels and other energy-efficient upgrades.
Don Knight/The Herald-Bulletin via AP
School & District Management FEMA Will Pay Schools Affected By Disasters for Energy-Efficient Upgrades
Schools can now get funds to cover the costs of solar panels and other energy-efficient systems as they recover from natural disasters.
Mark Lieberman, January 31, 2024
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3 min read
Photo illustration of a man walking through a maze with different color doors, some open, some closed. The concept of difficulty, too many options in a huge maze.
iStock/Getty
School & District Management How Do You Decide Which Schools to Close? Inside 2 Districts' Thinking
School district leaders weighed enrollment and staffing trends, population patterns, and logistical and sentimental concerns.
Mark Lieberman, January 26, 2024
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6 min read
Composite of worn chain link fence with lock, caution school crossing sign and dilapidated school in background.
Illustration by Liz Yap/Education Week (Images: iStock/Getty)
School & District Management Pressure to Close Schools Is Ramping Up. What Districts Need to Know
Falling enrollments and tight budgets are prompting communities to consider school closures. But doing so is never simple.
Mark Lieberman, January 24, 2024
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8 min read
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