Track Every Dollar
Arkansas: every school dollar
Where Arkansas'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$7.3 billion
- Spent per student, day to day$13,873U.S.: $17,619
- Students458,186249 school systems
- Lottery money to education$112 millionFY2025
Where the money comes from
$7.3 billion in the 2023-24 school year. Select federal, state or local to see every line.
Federal $1.1 billion14.7%
Inside the federal total: $273 million of pandemic relief (ESSER and related funds), which ended in 2024.
State $5.0 billion69.3%
Local $1.2 billion16.0%
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
$7.5 billion spent. Select support services for every line.
Inside these totals: $3.4 billion in salaries and wages, $920 million in employee benefits. Long-term debt at year end: $5.9 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
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 Arkansas in fiscal year 2025: $910 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 Arkansas'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.
| Program | What it is | Arkansas | Share of the national total |
|---|---|---|---|
| School lunch | National School Lunch Program (Department of Agriculture) | $499 million | 1.8% |
| Pell Grants | College grants to students with financial need | $354 million | 0.9% |
| Title I | Grants to schools with many students from low-income families | $175 million | 1.0% |
| Special education (IDEA) | Grants to states for students with disabilities, ages 3 to 21 | $138 million | 1.0% |
| Head Start | Early childhood programs (Department of Health and Human Services) | $123 million | 1.0% |
| Title II, teachers | Supporting effective instruction: teacher and principal training | $23.5 million | 1.1% |
| Career and technical education | Perkins basic grants to states | $14.9 million | 1.1% |
| Title IV-A | Student support and academic enrichment grants | $12.9 million | 0.9% |
| After school (21st Century) | 21st Century Community Learning Centers | $12.3 million | 0.9% |
| Federal Work-Study | Part-time jobs for college students with need | $7.5 million | 0.7% |
| Special education, preschool | Preschool grants for children with disabilities, ages 3 to 5 | $5.8 million | 1.5% |
| College opportunity grants (SEOG) | Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants | $5.8 million | 0.6% |
| English learners (Title III) | English language acquisition grants | $4.5 million | 0.5% |
| Impact Aid | Payments to districts with federal land or military families | $609,843 | 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 Arkansas spending the education lottery money?
Net proceeds are deposited monthly into the Lottery Scholarship Trust Account and fund scholarships administered by the Arkansas Division of Higher Education: the Academic Challenge, Workforce Challenge and Concurrent Challenge Scholarships. The lottery began in 2009.
What the law says
The promise: No fixed percentage; net proceeds are to be set at the amount that maximizes net proceeds for scholarships.
"The percentage of lottery proceeds determined by the OAL to be net proceeds shall equal an amount determined by the OAL to maximize net proceeds for scholarships."
Ark. Code Ann. 23-115-801(a)(3) (as quoted in the OAL FY2025 ACFR, Note 12) arklegaudit.gov
- Tickets sold$578 million p. 36
- Prizes 69%$400 million p. 38
- Retailers 6%$32.7 million p. 46
- Running the lottery 2%$12.7 million p. 35
- To education 19%$112 million p. 46
- Other costs and reserves 3%$20.1 million tickets sold minus the rows above
Of every dollar of Arkansas lottery tickets sold in FY2025, 19 cents reached education.
What it paid for, FY2025
Payments made during the year. They include money earned in earlier years, so they do not add up to the year's total sent to education.
- Academic Challenge Scholarship (distributed by the Arkansas Division of Higher Education)$99.2 million p. 9
Since 2009: $1.5 billion p. 9 to education in total.
Every school system in Arkansas
249 school systems reported to the Census Bureau for 2023-24. See each one's money in and money out.
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 Arkansas 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: Office of the Arkansas Lottery Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2025 (Arkansas Legislative Audit report SA1661325), Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration, Office of the Arkansas Lottery; audited by Arkansas Legislative Audit. arklegaudit.gov
- Lottery: Act 606 of 2009, Arkansas Scholarship Lottery Act, Arkansas General Assembly. arkleg.state.ar.us
- Checked November 2, 2026. How we track it · Report an error
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Track Every Dollar
How is Arkansas spending the education lottery money?
- Public school money, 2023-24$7.3 billion
- Spent per student$13,873
- Lottery money to education, FY2025$112 million
- Of each lottery dollar sold19 cents to education
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