Government school funding nears $1 trillion as student scores continue to plummet
Government schools in America received a collective $946.5 billion in local, state and federal funding in 2023, according to the Reason Foundation.
The breakdown includes local ($403.4 billion), state ($422.8 billion) and federal ($120.3 billion), the Reason Foundation’s K-12 Spending Spotlight 2025 said.
New York had the highest per-student budget at $36,976, followed by New Jersey at $30,267 per student. Idaho spent the least at $11,937.
Just under $1 trillion is a lot of taxpayer money to indoctrinate our children to hate themselves and our country while failing at their real mission to teach kids to read, write and do math.
This equates to $20,322 per student. In the meantime, the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) estimates that it costs, on average, $1,500 per pupil to homeschool, with much better outcomes for children.
Government K-12 school funding in the U.S. grew 35.8% between 2002 and 2023, with the average annual per-student cost increasing from $14,969 to $20,322 during that time frame after adjusting for inflation, according to the study.
“The analysis predicts K-12 funding challenges ahead, including declining public school enrollment, an imbalance of staffing levels compared to enrollment, mounting pension costs and debt, stagnant teacher salaries, and pressures to increase academic outcomes,” the foundation said.
The Reason Foundation findings show that throwing more money at the problem leads only to more money being wasted, not to better education. Parents are wising up and looking for options. USPIE recently reported on how school districts are even hiring firms to lure out-of-district students.
“Despite plummeting enrollment, the surge in public school staffing has persisted,” the Reason Foundation said. “Between 2002 and 2023, the number of public school staff increased by 15.1%, while student enrollment grew by only 4.1%.”
Meanwhile, in all 50 states, “inflation-adjusted average teacher salaries dropped by 6.1% between 2002 and 2022,” K-12DIVE reported from the study.
The only group gaining from this deplorable situation is the left-wing teacher unions, which exist to fatten their own pockets and spread indoctrination.
To hear more from USPIE’s Founder and President, Sheri Few, tune in to the latest episode of USPIE’s podcast, “Unmasking Government Schools with Sheri Few,” on Tuesday, Dec. 16, where Few is joined by special guest Sheila Matthews, founder of AbleChild. Sheila has spent over two decades advocating for parental rights and exposing the overdiagnosis and overmedication of children in our school system. Listen to “Unmasking Government Schools with Sheri Few” on YouTube, Facebook, Spotify and X.
USPIE’s powerful documentary, “Truth & Lies in American Education,” addresses some of the most glaring issues in the American education system and helps parents experience a paradigm shift in how they think about education and the role of their local schools. The film follows Few’s daughter-in-law, April, as she seeks to learn more about the system she was planning on exposing to her own children and learns the shocking truth. “Truth & Lies in American Education” is available for streaming on SalemNOW, as well available on DVD.