Track Every Dollar
Georgia: every school dollar
Where Georgia'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$31.7 billion
- Spent per student, day to day$15,833U.S.: $17,619
- Students1,705,143196 school systems
- Lottery money to education$1.5 billionFY2025
Where the money comes from
$31.7 billion in the 2023-24 school year. Select federal, state or local to see every line.
Federal $3.8 billion12.0%
Inside the federal total: $1.4 billion of pandemic relief (ESSER and related funds), which ended in 2024.
State $12.5 billion39.4%
Local $15.4 billion48.6%
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
$31.1 billion spent. Select support services for every line.
Inside these totals: $15.0 billion in salaries and wages, $6.7 billion in employee benefits. Long-term debt at year end: $4.7 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 Georgia in fiscal year 2025: $3.0 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 Georgia'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 | Georgia | Share of the national total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pell Grants | College grants to students with financial need | $1.3 billion | 3.3% |
| School lunch | National School Lunch Program (Department of Agriculture) | $1.1 billion | 4.0% |
| Title I | Grants to schools with many students from low-income families | $623 million | 3.4% |
| Special education (IDEA) | Grants to states for students with disabilities, ages 3 to 21 | $418 million | 3.0% |
| Head Start | Early childhood programs (Department of Health and Human Services) | $290 million | 2.5% |
| Title II, teachers | Supporting effective instruction: teacher and principal training | $75.5 million | 3.5% |
| Career and technical education | Perkins basic grants to states | $51.7 million | 3.7% |
| Title IV-A | Student support and academic enrichment grants | $43.5 million | 3.2% |
| After school (21st Century) | 21st Century Community Learning Centers | $40.6 million | 3.0% |
| Federal Work-Study | Part-time jobs for college students with need | $29.3 million | 2.6% |
| College opportunity grants (SEOG) | Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants | $23.7 million | 2.6% |
| English learners (Title III) | English language acquisition grants | $22.4 million | 2.6% |
| Impact Aid | Payments to districts with federal land or military families | $15.4 million | 1.0% |
| Special education, preschool | Preschool grants for children with disabilities, ages 3 to 5 | $10.7 million | 2.7% |
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 Georgia spending the education lottery money?
All net proceeds are transferred quarterly to the Lottery for Education Account in the state treasury, which the General Assembly appropriates for educational purposes and programs, chiefly HOPE scholarships and grants and Pre-K. The lottery began in 1993.
What the law says
The promise: As nearly as practical, net proceeds to the Lottery for Education Account should equal at least 35% of lottery proceeds each fiscal year.
"net proceeds shall equal at least 35 percent of the lottery proceeds"
O.C.G.A. 50-27-13(a)(3) galottery.com
- Tickets sold$6.0 billion p. 21
- Prizes 65%$3.9 billion p. 21
- Retailers 5%$294 million p. 21
- Running the lottery 1%$61.4 million p. 37
- To education 24%$1.5 billion p. 21
- Other costs and reserves 5%$279 million tickets sold minus the rows above
Of every dollar of Georgia lottery tickets sold in FY2025, 24 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.
- HOPE Scholarship Program (cumulative since inception of the GLC)$16.0 billion source
- Pre-K Program (cumulative since inception of the GLC)$9.0 billion source
Lottery money to education by year
Since 1993: $29.8 billion p. 4 to education in total.
Every school system in Georgia
196 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 Georgia 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: Georgia Lottery Corporation and Subsidiaries Financial Statements for the Years Ended June 30, 2025 and 2024, and Independent Auditor's Report, Georgia Lottery Corporation, 2025-10-06. galottery.com
- Lottery: Georgia Code Title 50, Chapter 27, Lottery for Education (current through the 2026 Regular Session), Georgia Lottery Corporation (reprint of O.C.G.A. 50-27). galottery.com
- Lottery: Returns to Education, Georgia Lottery Corporation. galottery.com
- Lottery: Maximizing Revenues for HOPE and Pre-K, Georgia Lottery Corporation. galottery.com
- Lottery: FY25 CSR Impact Report, Georgia Lottery Corporation. galottery.com
- Checked November 2, 2026. How we track it · Report an error
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Track Every Dollar
How is Georgia spending the education lottery money?
- Public school money, 2023-24$31.7 billion
- Spent per student$15,833
- Lottery money to education, FY2025$1.5 billion
- Of each lottery dollar sold24 cents to education
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