Track Every Dollar
Missouri: every school dollar
Where Missouri'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$15.3 billion
- Spent per student, day to day$14,241U.S.: $17,619
- Students865,208518 school systems
- Lottery money to education$328 millionFY2025
Where the money comes from
$15.3 billion in the 2023-24 school year. Select federal, state or local to see every line.
Federal $1.7 billion11.4%
Inside the federal total: $605 million of pandemic relief (ESSER and related funds), which ended in 2024.
State $5.3 billion34.9%
Local $8.2 billion53.7%
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
$15.0 billion spent. Select support services for every line.
Inside these totals: $7.4 billion in salaries and wages, $2.3 billion in employee benefits. Long-term debt at year end: $9.2 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 Missouri in fiscal year 2025: $1.4 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 Missouri'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 | Missouri | Share of the national total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pell Grants | College grants to students with financial need | $525 million | 1.3% |
| School lunch | National School Lunch Program (Department of Agriculture) | $376 million | 1.4% |
| Special education (IDEA) | Grants to states for students with disabilities, ages 3 to 21 | $273 million | 1.9% |
| Title I | Grants to schools with many students from low-income families | $259 million | 1.4% |
| Head Start | Early childhood programs (Department of Health and Human Services) | $211 million | 1.8% |
| Title II, teachers | Supporting effective instruction: teacher and principal training | $37.4 million | 1.7% |
| Impact Aid | Payments to districts with federal land or military families | $35.0 million | 2.2% |
| Career and technical education | Perkins basic grants to states | $28.3 million | 2.0% |
| Federal Work-Study | Part-time jobs for college students with need | $23.1 million | 2.0% |
| Title IV-A | Student support and academic enrichment grants | $19.9 million | 1.5% |
| After school (21st Century) | 21st Century Community Learning Centers | $19.0 million | 1.4% |
| College opportunity grants (SEOG) | Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants | $13.1 million | 1.5% |
| Special education, preschool | Preschool grants for children with disabilities, ages 3 to 5 | $6.6 million | 1.6% |
| English learners (Title III) | English language acquisition grants | $6.2 million | 0.7% |
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 Missouri spending the education lottery money?
The Missouri Constitution sends net proceeds after prizes and administrative expenses to the Lottery Proceeds Fund, to be appropriated solely for public elementary, secondary and higher education. The lottery began in 1986.
What the law says
The promise: All net proceeds (after prizes and administrative expenses) go to the Lottery Proceeds Fund for public elementary, secondary and higher education. No fixed dollar amount or percentage of sales. A minimum of 45 percent of ticket sales must be paid as prizes.
"monies representing net proceeds after payment of prizes and administrative expenses shall be transferred by appropriation to the "Lottery Proceeds Fund" which is hereby created within the state treasury and such monies in the lottery proceeds fund shall be appropriated solely for public institutions of elementary, secondary and higher education."
Mo. Const. art. III, sec. 39(b) revisor.mo.gov
- Tickets sold$1.6 billion p. 30
- Prizes 71%$1.1 billion p. 23
- Retailers 6%$94.9 million p. 23
- Running the lottery 2%$31.8 million p. 23
- To education 20%$328 million p. 27
Of every dollar of Missouri lottery tickets sold in FY2025, 20 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.
- Foundation Formula (FY2025 appropriation of Lottery proceeds)$255 million p. 1
- Transportation (FY2025 appropriation of Lottery proceeds)$73.9 million p. 1
- Career Ladder (FY2025 appropriation of Lottery proceeds)$37.5 million p. 1
- Classroom Trust Fund (FY2025 appropriation of Lottery proceeds)$19.7 million p. 1
- Special Education Excess Costs (FY2025 appropriation of Lottery proceeds)$19.6 million p. 1
Lottery money to education by year
Since 1986: $9.0 billion source to education in total.
What auditors found
"the Lottery had a conflict of interest when it entered into a sponsorship agreement in 2021 with a not-for-profit entity while the Lottery's Community Relations Manager, who was responsible for overseeing sponsorships, was a member of the not-for-profit entity's board of directors."
Every school system in Missouri
518 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 Missouri 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: Missouri State Lottery Commission Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2025, Missouri State Lottery Commission, 2025-12-01. molottery.com
- Lottery: FY25 Missouri Lottery Proceeds Appropriations, Missouri Lottery. molottery.com
- Lottery: Where the Money Goes, Missouri Lottery. molottery.com
- Lottery: Missouri Constitution, Article III, Section 39(b), Missouri Revisor of Statutes. revisor.mo.gov
- Lottery: Fitzpatrick releases audit of Missouri State Lottery Commission, Missouri State Auditor, 2023-11-08. auditor.mo.gov
- Checked November 2, 2026. How we track it · Report an error
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Track Every Dollar
How is Missouri spending the education lottery money?
- Public school money, 2023-24$15.3 billion
- Spent per student$14,241
- Lottery money to education, FY2025$328 million
- Of each lottery dollar sold20 cents to education
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