Texas officials' claim that school funding is at an all-time high ignores inflation and temporary federal money
In their public campaign to create a private school voucher program in Texas, Republican leaders have often countered criticism from people concerned about the challenges facing the state’s public education system by saying school districts receive more than $15,000 for each student.
“Public education funding is at an all-time high. Funding per student is at an all-time high,” Gov. Greg Abbott said during his State of the State address last month, a message that other Republican lawmakers have echoed throughout this year’s legislative session.
But the $15,000 does not fully reflect the dollars districts receive from the state to serve students, according to a Texas Tribune analysis. It includes federal pandemic relief funds that have largely expired and money that districts cannot spend. Adjusted for inflation, per-student funding overall has actually declined in recent years. (Emphasis mine)
In addition, the Tribune’s analysis found that the state's individual contribution to funding for each student had significantly decreased in the last decade until recently, when Texas stepped in to replace lost federal and local dollars. The base amount of money districts receive for every child has also stagnated since 2019. That number remains at $6,160.
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Math is so hard!