Track Every Dollar

Louisiana: every school dollar

Where Louisiana'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$12.4 billion
Spent per student, day to day$15,581U.S.: $17,619
Students628,33570 school systems
Lottery money to educationNot yet verified

Where the money comes from

$12.4 billion in the 2023-24 school year. Select federal, state or local to see every line.

Federal 19%State 34%Local 47%

Federal $2.4 billion19.2%

All other federal money$1.4 billion58.5%
School meals$394 million16.5%
Title I: schools with many low-income families$329 million13.8%
Special education (IDEA)$179 million7.5%
Teacher and principal training (Title II)$37.7 million1.6%
Student support and enrichment (Title IV-A)$21.4 million0.9%
Career and technical education$8.8 million0.4%
After-school programs (21st Century)$7.8 million0.3%
Impact Aid$7.3 million0.3%
English learners (Title III)$4.5 million0.2%
Rural schools$2.8 million0.1%

Inside the federal total: $1.0 billion of pandemic relief (ESSER and related funds), which ended in 2024.

State $4.2 billion33.7%

General formula aid$3.8 billion89.7%
All other state money$321 million7.7%
Compensatory and basic skills programs$86.9 million2.1%
School meals$21.9 million0.5%
Staff improvement$738,000under 0.1%
Special education$505,000under 0.1%

Local $5.9 billion47.1%

Other local taxes (sales, utility, income)$2.8 billion47.2%
Property taxes$2.3 billion38.8%
Interest, rents, donations and other$479 million8.2%
Tuition, fees, meals and other charges$267 million4.6%
From cities and counties$72.9 million1.2%

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

$11.1 billion spent. Select support services for every line.

Teaching (instruction)$5.4 billion48.2%
Support services Details$3.9 billion35.2%
- Running and maintaining buildings$1.1 billion28.0%
- Student support: attendance, guidance, health and psychological services$598 million15.3%
- Teacher support: curriculum, training, libraries$580 million14.8%
- School administration: principals' offices$555 million14.2%
- Student transportation$533 million13.6%
- Business office and central services$281 million7.2%
- District administration: the board and superintendent's office$269 million6.9%
Buildings and equipment Details$1.1 billion10.2%
Of this, construction: $882 million.
Food service and other$542 million4.9%
Interest on debt$145 million1.3%
Community services and adult education$13.8 million0.1%

Inside these totals: $4.9 billion in salaries and wages, $2.3 billion in employee benefits. Long-term debt at year end: $3.7 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

Louisiana: 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 Louisiana in fiscal year 2025: $1.7 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 Louisiana'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 Louisiana, fiscal year 2025
Program	What it is	Louisiana	Share of the national total
Pell Grants	College grants to students with financial need	$649 million	1.6%
School lunch	National School Lunch Program (Department of Agriculture)	$596 million	2.2%
Title I	Grants to schools with many students from low-income families	$388 million	2.1%
Head Start	Early childhood programs (Department of Health and Human Services)	$240 million	2.0%
Special education (IDEA)	Grants to states for students with disabilities, ages 3 to 21	$213 million	1.5%
Title II, teachers	Supporting effective instruction: teacher and principal training	$42.6 million	2.0%
Title IV-A	Student support and academic enrichment grants	$27.9 million	2.0%
After school (21st Century)	21st Century Community Learning Centers	$27.6 million	2.1%
Career and technical education	Perkins basic grants to states	$24.1 million	1.7%
Federal Work-Study	Part-time jobs for college students with need	$13.3 million	1.2%
College opportunity grants (SEOG)	Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants	$11.4 million	1.3%
Impact Aid	Payments to districts with federal land or military families	$8.2 million	0.5%
English learners (Title III)	English language acquisition grants	$5.9 million	0.7%
Special education, preschool	Preschool grants for children with disabilities, ages 3 to 5	$5.2 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 Louisiana spending the education lottery money?

Net proceeds go to the Lottery Proceeds Fund in the state treasury, which the Constitution allows to be appropriated only for the Minimum Foundation Program (K-12) and no more than $500,000 a year for compulsive and problem gaming services. The lottery began in 1991.

What the law says

The promise: R.S. 47:9029(A)(3) requires transfers of not less than 25% of gross revenues each year to the state treasury; the Constitution limits use of the Lottery Proceeds Fund to the Minimum Foundation Program plus no more than $500,000 for compulsive and problem gaming.

"The legislature shall annually appropriate from the fund only for the purposes of the minimum foundation program and no more than five hundred thousand dollars for services related to compulsive and problem gaming as may be provided by law."

La. Const. art. XII, sec. 6(A)(1); La. R.S. 47:9029(A)(3) legis.la.gov

Tickets sold$581 million p. 20
Prizes 59%$340 million p. 20
Retailers 6%$32.9 million p. 20
Running the lottery 4%$21.5 million p. 20
Sent to the state for its programs 31%$182 million p. 20
Other costs and reserves 1%$4.9 million tickets sold minus the rows above
Of what was sent to the state, to educationUnknown

Lottery money to education by year

Louisiana lottery money to education, by fiscal year.

Still being verified: to education.

Every school system in Louisiana

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

See all 70 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 Louisiana 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: Louisiana Lottery Corporation Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the Fiscal Years Ended June 30, 2025 and 2024, Louisiana Lottery Corporation; audited and distributed by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor. app2.lla.state.la.us
Lottery: Constitution of Louisiana, Article XII, Section 6, Lotteries; Gaming, Gambling, or Wagering, Louisiana State Legislature. legis.la.gov
Lottery: La. R.S. 47:9029, Deposit of revenues; transfer of revenues to state treasury, Louisiana State Legislature. legis.la.gov
Checked November 2, 2026. How we track it · Report an error