Track Every Dollar

Alaska: every school dollar

Where Alaska'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$2.9 billion
Spent per student, day to day$21,004U.S.: $17,619
Students131,24354 school systems
Lottery money to educationNo state lottery

Where the money comes from

$2.9 billion in the 2023-24 school year. Select federal, state or local to see every line.

Federal 21%State 55%Local 24%

Federal $604 million21.0%

Impact Aid$206 million34.1%
All other federal money$151 million24.9%
Title I: schools with many low-income families$92.2 million15.3%
School meals$53.9 million8.9%
Special education (IDEA)$43.1 million7.1%
Indian, Native Hawaiian and Alaska Native education$32.0 million5.3%
Teacher and principal training (Title II)$8.2 million1.4%
Student support and enrichment (Title IV-A)$6.1 million1.0%
Career and technical education$5.4 million0.9%
After-school programs (21st Century)$4.4 million0.7%
English learners (Title III)$1.2 million0.2%
Rural schools$662,0000.1%

Inside the federal total: $108 million of pandemic relief (ESSER and related funds), which ended in 2024.

State $1.6 billion55.2%

General formula aid$1.2 billion78.8%
Buildings and debt payments$132 million8.3%
Paid by the state for the district (benefits and other costs)$104 million6.6%
Transportation$71.1 million4.5%
All other state money$29.2 million1.8%
School meals$88,000under 0.1%
Staff improvement$9,000under 0.1%

Local $684 million23.8%

From the parent city or county government$580 million84.8%
Interest, rents, donations and other$65.4 million9.6%
Tuition, fees, meals and other charges$38.8 million5.7%

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

$3.0 billion spent. Select support services for every line.

Teaching (instruction)$1.4 billion46.4%
Support services Details$1.2 billion41.1%
- Running and maintaining buildings$324 million26.0%
- Teacher support: curriculum, training, libraries$286 million22.9%
- Student support: attendance, guidance, health and psychological services$204 million16.4%
- School administration: principals' offices$150 million12.0%
- Business office and central services$121 million9.7%
- Student transportation$87.8 million7.0%
- Other support services and benefits paid by the state$38.2 million3.1%
- District administration: the board and superintendent's office$36.9 million3.0%
Buildings and equipment Details$250 million8.2%
Of this, construction: $128 million.
Food service and other$99.4 million3.3%
Interest on debt$21.2 million0.7%
Community services and adult education$8.7 million0.3%

Inside these totals: $1.2 billion in salaries and wages, $571 million in employee benefits. Long-term debt at year end: $539 million.

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

Alaska: 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 Alaska in fiscal year 2025: $436 million. 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 Alaska'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 Alaska, fiscal year 2025
Program	What it is	Alaska	Share of the national total
Impact Aid	Payments to districts with federal land or military families	$109 million	6.9%
School lunch	National School Lunch Program (Department of Agriculture)	$65.8 million	0.2%
Title I	Grants to schools with many students from low-income families	$53.0 million	0.3%
Head Start	Early childhood programs (Department of Health and Human Services)	$52.7 million	0.4%
Special education (IDEA)	Grants to states for students with disabilities, ages 3 to 21	$44.7 million	0.3%
Pell Grants	College grants to students with financial need	$41.5 million	0.1%
Title II, teachers	Supporting effective instruction: teacher and principal training	$10.8 million	0.5%
Title IV-A	Student support and academic enrichment grants	$6.7 million	0.5%
After school (21st Century)	21st Century Community Learning Centers	$6.6 million	0.5%
Career and technical education	Perkins basic grants to states	$5.9 million	0.4%
English learners (Title III)	English language acquisition grants	$2.1 million	0.2%
Special education, preschool	Preschool grants for children with disabilities, ages 3 to 5	$1.3 million	0.3%
College opportunity grants (SEOG)	Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants	$1.1 million	0.1%
Federal Work-Study	Part-time jobs for college students with need	$508,777	under 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 Alaska spending the education lottery money?

Alaska has no state lottery. "A person commits the offense of gambling if the person engages in unlawful gambling." Alaska Statutes AS 11.66.200(a) (Gambling) and AS 11.66.280 (Definitions)

Every school system in Alaska

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

See all 54 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 Alaska 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: Alaska Statutes, AS 11.66.200 to 11.66.280 (Gambling Offenses), Alaska State Legislature. akleg.gov
Checked November 2, 2026. How we track it · Report an error