Track Every Dollar

Connecticut: every school dollar

Where Connecticut'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$14.1 billion
Spent per student, day to day$26,316U.S.: $17,619
Students472,293174 school systems
Lottery money to educationLottery money goes to other purposes

Where the money comes from

$14.1 billion in the 2023-24 school year. Select federal, state or local to see every line.

Federal 8%State 36%Local 56%

Federal $1.1 billion8.1%

All other federal money$566 million49.6%
School meals$244 million21.3%
Title I: schools with many low-income families$145 million12.7%
Special education (IDEA)$142 million12.5%
Teacher and principal training (Title II)$14.0 million1.2%
Student support and enrichment (Title IV-A)$9.4 million0.8%
Career and technical education$8.8 million0.8%
English learners (Title III)$6.7 million0.6%
After-school programs (21st Century)$5.6 million0.5%

Inside the federal total: $514 million of pandemic relief (ESSER and related funds), which ended in 2024.

State $5.0 billion35.8%

Paid by the state for the district (benefits and other costs)$1.6 billion31.8%
General formula aid$1.4 billion27.6%
Special education$666 million13.2%
All other state money$464 million9.2%
Compensatory and basic skills programs$413 million8.2%
Buildings and debt payments$385 million7.6%
Transportation$80.8 million1.6%
Career and technical education$19.6 million0.4%
School meals$8.4 million0.2%
Bilingual education$3.7 millionunder 0.1%
Staff improvement$648,000under 0.1%

Local $7.9 billion56.1%

From the parent city or county government$7.2 billion91.8%
From cities and counties$505 million6.4%
Tuition, fees, meals and other charges$106 million1.3%
Interest, rents, donations and other$35.8 million0.5%

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

$14.1 billion spent. Select support services for every line.

Teaching (instruction)$7.6 billion53.9%
Support services Details$4.8 billion34.4%
- Running and maintaining buildings$978 million20.2%
- Student support: attendance, guidance, health and psychological services$869 million18.0%
- Student transportation$696 million14.4%
- Other support services and benefits paid by the state$681 million14.1%
- School administration: principals' offices$585 million12.1%
- Teacher support: curriculum, training, libraries$421 million8.7%
- Business office and central services$354 million7.3%
- District administration: the board and superintendent's office$253 million5.2%
Buildings and equipment Details$1.0 billion7.3%
Of this, construction: $836 million.
Food service and other$429 million3.0%
Interest on debt$136 million1.0%
Community services and adult education$72.8 million0.5%

Inside these totals: $6.6 billion in salaries and wages, $1.9 billion in employee benefits. Long-term debt at year end: $2.4 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

Connecticut: 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 Connecticut in fiscal year 2025: $926 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 Connecticut'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 Connecticut, fiscal year 2025
Program	What it is	Connecticut	Share of the national total
Pell Grants	College grants to students with financial need	$440 million	1.1%
School lunch	National School Lunch Program (Department of Agriculture)	$226 million	0.8%
Special education (IDEA)	Grants to states for students with disabilities, ages 3 to 21	$159 million	1.1%
Title I	Grants to schools with many students from low-income families	$158 million	0.9%
Head Start	Early childhood programs (Department of Health and Human Services)	$90.8 million	0.8%
Title II, teachers	Supporting effective instruction: teacher and principal training	$16.5 million	0.8%
Federal Work-Study	Part-time jobs for college students with need	$15.9 million	1.4%
Career and technical education	Perkins basic grants to states	$12.3 million	0.9%
College opportunity grants (SEOG)	Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants	$12.1 million	1.3%
After school (21st Century)	21st Century Community Learning Centers	$10.9 million	0.8%
Title IV-A	Student support and academic enrichment grants	$9.2 million	0.7%
English learners (Title III)	English language acquisition grants	$7.8 million	0.9%
Impact Aid	Payments to districts with federal land or military families	$5.4 million	0.3%
Special education, preschool	Preschool grants for children with disabilities, ages 3 to 5	$5.3 million	1.3%

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 Connecticut spending the education lottery money?

State law sends the lottery and gaming fund balance above the corporation's needs to the state General Fund, unless the Connecticut Teachers' Retirement Fund Bonds Special Capital Reserve Fund falls below its required minimum.

What the law says

"The corporation shall transfer the amount so certified from the lottery and gaming fund of the corporation to the General Fund upon notification of receipt of such certification by the Treasurer"

Conn. Gen. Stat. 12-812(c) cga.ct.gov

Tickets sold$1.8 billion p. 41
Prizes 70%$1.3 billion p. 38
Retailers 5%$81.9 million p. 38
Running the lottery 1%$22.7 million p. 38
Sent to the state for its programs 20%$362 million p. 41
Other costs and reserves 4%$70.2 million tickets sold minus the rows above
Of what was sent to the state, to educationUnknown

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.

Payments to State’s General Fund$362 million p. 38
Payments to Chronic Gamblers’ Fund$3.3 million p. 38
Payments to Department of Consumer Protection$3.0 million p. 38

Since 1972: $12.0 billion source to education in total.

What auditors found

"In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the respective financial position of the Lottery"

Independent auditors, Hartford, Connecticut (WAdvising.com), Independent Auditors' Report, Connecticut Lottery Corporation, year ended June 30, 2025 (in the 2025 Annual Report), 2025-11-26. ctlottery.com

Still being verified: to education.

Every school system in Connecticut

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

See all 174 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 Connecticut 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: Connecticut Lottery Corporation 2025 Annual Report, Connecticut Lottery Corporation. ctlottery.com
Lottery: Connecticut General Statutes Chapter 229a, Connecticut Lottery Corporation (Sec. 12-812), Connecticut General Assembly. cga.ct.gov
Lottery: About Us, Connecticut Lottery Corporation. ctlottery.com
Checked November 2, 2026. How we track it · Report an error