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Kentucky: every school dollar
Where Kentucky'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$11.2 billion
- Spent per student, day to day$14,596U.S.: $17,619
- Students656,427171 school systems
- Lottery money to education$382 millionFY2025
Where the money comes from
$11.2 billion in the 2023-24 school year. Select federal, state or local to see every line.
Federal $1.9 billion17.1%
Inside the federal total: $657 million of pandemic relief (ESSER and related funds), which ended in 2024.
State $5.2 billion45.9%
Local $4.2 billion37.0%
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
$11.6 billion spent. Select support services for every line.
Inside these totals: $5.1 billion in salaries and wages, $738 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 Kentucky in fiscal year 2025: $1.5 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 Kentucky'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 | Kentucky | Share of the national total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pell Grants | College grants to students with financial need | $602 million | 1.5% |
| School lunch | National School Lunch Program (Department of Agriculture) | $575 million | 2.1% |
| Title I | Grants to schools with many students from low-income families | $291 million | 1.6% |
| Head Start | Early childhood programs (Department of Health and Human Services) | $211 million | 1.8% |
| Special education (IDEA) | Grants to states for students with disabilities, ages 3 to 21 | $196 million | 1.4% |
| Title II, teachers | Supporting effective instruction: teacher and principal training | $33.3 million | 1.5% |
| Career and technical education | Perkins basic grants to states | $22.0 million | 1.6% |
| Title IV-A | Student support and academic enrichment grants | $21.2 million | 1.6% |
| After school (21st Century) | 21st Century Community Learning Centers | $19.8 million | 1.5% |
| Federal Work-Study | Part-time jobs for college students with need | $19.0 million | 1.7% |
| College opportunity grants (SEOG) | Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants | $11.6 million | 1.3% |
| Special education, preschool | Preschool grants for children with disabilities, ages 3 to 5 | $10.8 million | 2.7% |
| English learners (Title III) | English language acquisition grants | $5.8 million | 0.7% |
| Impact Aid | Payments to districts with federal land or military families | $2.1 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 Kentucky spending the education lottery money?
Kentucky law credits net lottery revenues to literacy programs ($3 million a year), then 45 percent to the Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship (KEES) trust fund and 55 percent to the College Access Program and Kentucky Tuition Grants; unclaimed prizes go to the KEES Reserve Account. The lottery began in 1989.
What the law says
The promise: $3,000,000 a year to literacy (reading research center and reading diagnostic and intervention fund), then 45% of net lottery revenues to the KEES trust fund and 55% to the College Access Program and Kentucky Tuition Grants Program.
"net lottery revenues from the sale of lottery tickets shall be credited from the general fund as follows: (a) To the Wallace G. Wilkinson Kentucky educational excellence scholarship trust fund established in KRS 164.7877:"
KRS 154A.130(3)-(4) apps.legislature.ky.gov
- Tickets sold$2.2 billion p. 25
- Prizes 74%$1.6 billion p. 25
- Retailers 4%$82.0 million p. 25
- Running the lottery 2%$41.7 million p. 25
- To education 18%$382 million p. 25
- Other costs and reserves 2%$49.7 million tickets sold minus the rows above
Of every dollar of Kentucky lottery tickets sold in FY2025, 18 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.
- General Fund and Trust and Agency Account (used to pay for college scholarships, grants, and education programs)$371 million p. 44
- KEES Scholarship Reserve Fund (unclaimed prizes)$11.6 million p. 44
What auditors found
"The results of our tests disclosed no instances of noncompliance or other matters that are required to be reported under Government Auditing Standards."
Every school system in Kentucky
171 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 Kentucky 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: Report of the Audit of the Kentucky Lottery Corporation for the Years Ended June 30, 2025 and 2024, Kentucky Auditor of Public Accounts (hosted by the Kentucky Legislative Research Commission). apps.legislature.ky.gov
- Lottery: KRS 154A.130, Deposit of moneys, allocation of funds, transfer of revenues to general fund, Kentucky Legislature. apps.legislature.ky.gov
- Checked November 2, 2026. How we track it · Report an error
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How is Kentucky spending the education lottery money?
- Public school money, 2023-24$11.2 billion
- Spent per student$14,596
- Lottery money to education, FY2025$382 million
- Of each lottery dollar sold18 cents to education
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