On average, what portion of K-12 public school funding in the U.S. is provided by local property taxes?
Correct Answer
In the 2015-16 school year, local property taxes paid for 36% of all K-12 public school funding in the United States. Between 1920 and 2016, the portion of K-12 funding provided by local governments decreased from 83% to 45%, while the portion paid by state governments rose from 16% to 47%, and the portion paid by the federal government rose from 0.3% to 8%. During this period, state governments paid a growing share of the education expenses of low-income school districts in order to equalize their funding with higher-income districts. As a result, since the early 1970s, school districts with higher portions of minority students have spent about the same average amount per student as school districts with smaller portions of minority students.
DocumentationK-12 Funding SourcesK-12 Spending Trends