Track Every Dollar

Alabama: every school dollar

Where Alabama's public school money comes from, where it goes, what Washington sends, and how the state spends its lottery money. Select any line for more.

Public school money, 2023-24$12.9 billion
Spent per student, day to day$13,627U.S.: $17,619
Students741,082137 school systems
Lottery money to educationNo state lottery

Where the money comes from

$12.9 billion in the 2023-24 school year. Select federal, state or local to see every line.

Federal 16%State 53%Local 31%

Federal $2.1 billion16.1%

All other federal money$1.0 billion50.4%
School meals$456 million22.0%
Title I: schools with many low-income families$295 million14.2%
Special education (IDEA)$205 million9.9%
Teacher and principal training (Title II)$37.8 million1.8%
Career and technical education$15.4 million0.7%
After-school programs (21st Century)$10.6 million0.5%
English learners (Title III)$4.3 million0.2%
Impact Aid$3.6 million0.2%
Indian, Native Hawaiian and Alaska Native education$1.0 millionunder 0.1%

Inside the federal total: $957 million of pandemic relief (ESSER and related funds), which ended in 2024.

State $6.8 billion52.5%

General formula aid$4.5 billion66.9%
All other state money$1.4 billion20.8%
Transportation$439 million6.5%
Buildings and debt payments$227 million3.4%
Compensatory and basic skills programs$109 million1.6%
Staff improvement$43.9 million0.6%
Bilingual education$14.1 million0.2%
Special education$1.5 millionunder 0.1%

Local $4.0 billion31.3%

Property taxes$2.0 billion48.9%
From cities and counties$1.2 billion29.5%
Interest, rents, donations and other$523 million13.0%
Tuition, fees, meals and other charges$338 million8.4%
Other local taxes (sales, utility, income)$7.9 million0.2%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of School System Finances, Public Elementary-Secondary Education Finances: Fiscal Year 2024. School year 2023-24. census.gov the data file

Where it goes

$12.0 billion spent. Select support services for every line.

Teaching (instruction)$5.5 billion46.1%
Support services Details$3.9 billion32.9%
- Running and maintaining buildings$1.1 billion26.9%
- Student support: attendance, guidance, health and psychological services$817 million20.7%
- School administration: principals' offices$574 million14.6%
- Teacher support: curriculum, training, libraries$470 million11.9%
- Student transportation$462 million11.7%
- District administration: the board and superintendent's office$306 million7.8%
- Business office and central services$253 million6.4%
Buildings and equipment Details$1.5 billion12.3%
Of this, construction: $1.3 billion.
Food service and other$635 million5.3%
Interest on debt$188 million1.6%
Community services and adult education$217 million1.8%

Inside these totals: $5.5 billion in salaries and wages, $2.0 billion in employee benefits. Long-term debt at year end: $4.6 billion.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of School System Finances, Public Elementary-Secondary Education Finances: Fiscal Year 2024. School year 2023-24. census.gov the data file

Spending per student over time

Alabama: day-to-day spending per student, by fiscal year.

Not adjusted for inflation. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of School System Finances, Table 20. summary tables

What Washington committed

Department of Education money committed for use in Alabama in fiscal year 2025: $1.6 billion. The programs below include money from Agriculture (school meals) and Health and Human Services (Head Start), and college aid (Pell).

Why this differs from the federal line above: that line is what Alabama's schools received in the 2023-24 school year (Census). This one is what Washington committed in a later federal year, including college aid, which schools never receive.

Federal education programs in Alabama, fiscal year 2025
Program	What it is	Alabama	Share of the national total
Pell Grants	College grants to students with financial need	$605 million	1.5%
School lunch	National School Lunch Program (Department of Agriculture)	$502 million	1.8%
Title I	Grants to schools with many students from low-income families	$302 million	1.6%
Special education (IDEA)	Grants to states for students with disabilities, ages 3 to 21	$219 million	1.6%
Head Start	Early childhood programs (Department of Health and Human Services)	$167 million	1.4%
Title II, teachers	Supporting effective instruction: teacher and principal training	$39.5 million	1.8%
Career and technical education	Perkins basic grants to states	$24.5 million	1.7%
Title IV-A	Student support and academic enrichment grants	$22.6 million	1.7%
After school (21st Century)	21st Century Community Learning Centers	$21.2 million	1.6%
Federal Work-Study	Part-time jobs for college students with need	$13.0 million	1.1%
College opportunity grants (SEOG)	Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants	$12.5 million	1.4%
English learners (Title III)	English language acquisition grants	$5.9 million	0.7%
Special education, preschool	Preschool grants for children with disabilities, ages 3 to 5	$5.9 million	1.5%
Impact Aid	Payments to districts with federal land or military families	$2.0 million	0.1%

Source: USAspending.gov, U.S. Department of the Treasury. Federal fiscal year 2025 (October 2024 to September 2025), money committed (obligated) by state where it is used. usaspending.gov

How is Alabama spending the education lottery money?

Alabama has no state lottery. "of 2022, lotteries and gift enterprises are prohibited." Ala. Const. 2022, Section 65 (as described in HB448, 2026 Regular Session, introduced)

Every school system in Alabama

137 school systems reported to the Census Bureau for 2023-24. See each one's money in and money out.

See all 137 school systems

The record

School money: Public Elementary-Secondary Education Finances: Fiscal Year 2024, U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of School System Finances. The district totals for Alabama were added up and checked against the Census state table on seven totals. census.gov
Federal money: Federal education spending, fiscal year 2025 (October 2024 to September 2025). Money committed, by the state where it is used. usaspending.gov
Lottery: HB448 Introduced, 2026 Regular Session (proposed constitutional amendment to establish a state lottery), Alabama Legislature (ALISON). alison.legislature.state.al.us
Checked November 2, 2026. How we track it · Report an error