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Oklahoma: every school dollar
Where Oklahoma'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$9.3 billion
- Spent per student, day to day$12,162U.S.: $17,619
- Students647,207511 school systems
- Lottery money to education$87.7 millionFY2024
Where the money comes from
$9.3 billion in the 2023-24 school year. Select federal, state or local to see every line.
Federal $1.3 billion13.9%
Inside the federal total: $315 million of pandemic relief (ESSER and related funds), which ended in 2024.
State $4.2 billion44.6%
Local $3.9 billion41.5%
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
$9.2 billion spent. Select support services for every line.
Inside these totals: $4.2 billion in salaries and wages, $1.4 billion in employee benefits. Long-term debt at year end: $3.3 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 Oklahoma in fiscal year 2025: $1.3 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 Oklahoma'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 | Oklahoma | Share of the national total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pell Grants | College grants to students with financial need | $439 million | 1.1% |
| School lunch | National School Lunch Program (Department of Agriculture) | $379 million | 1.4% |
| Title I | Grants to schools with many students from low-income families | $240 million | 1.3% |
| Head Start | Early childhood programs (Department of Health and Human Services) | $199 million | 1.7% |
| Special education (IDEA) | Grants to states for students with disabilities, ages 3 to 21 | $181 million | 1.3% |
| Impact Aid | Payments to districts with federal land or military families | $44.9 million | 2.9% |
| Title II, teachers | Supporting effective instruction: teacher and principal training | $31.7 million | 1.5% |
| Career and technical education | Perkins basic grants to states | $18.4 million | 1.3% |
| Title IV-A | Student support and academic enrichment grants | $16.9 million | 1.2% |
| After school (21st Century) | 21st Century Community Learning Centers | $16.3 million | 1.2% |
| Federal Work-Study | Part-time jobs for college students with need | $12.3 million | 1.1% |
| English learners (Title III) | English language acquisition grants | $8.9 million | 1.0% |
| College opportunity grants (SEOG) | Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants | $8.8 million | 1.0% |
| Special education, preschool | Preschool grants for children with disabilities, ages 3 to 5 | $3.6 million | 0.9% |
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 Oklahoma spending the education lottery money?
Oklahoma law requires the Oklahoma Lottery Commission to transfer net proceeds to the Oklahoma Education Lottery Trust Fund, whose first $65 million a year is appropriated for K-12 and early childhood education, higher education aid, school facilities and technology, school consolidation and teacher retirement, and whose excess goes to the Teacher Empowerment Revolving Fund; the first $750,000 of unclaimed prizes goes to the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. The lottery began in 2005.
What the law says
The promise: All net proceeds go to the Oklahoma Education Lottery Trust Fund. The first $65 million a year is split 45 percent K-12 and early childhood, 45 percent higher education aid, school construction, capital outlay, technology and related uses, 5 percent School Consolidation Assistance Fund and 5 percent Teachers' Retirement System; the remainder above $65 million goes to the Teacher Empowerment Revolving Fund. At least 45 percent of gross proceeds must be prize money.
"1. The first Sixty-five Million Dollars ($65,000,000.00) of monies contributed annually to the Oklahoma Education Lottery Trust Fund shall only be appropriated as follows:"
3A O.S. 713(C) oklegislature.gov
- Tickets sold$355 million p. 11
- Prizes 62%$220 million p. 11
- Retailers 6%$22.3 million p. 8
- Running the lottery 2%$8.8 million p. 11
- Sent to the state for its programs 25%$88.4 million p. 8
- Other costs and reserves 4%$15.3 million tickets sold minus the rows above
- Of what was sent to the state, to education$87.7 million p. 11
Of every dollar of Oklahoma lottery tickets sold in FY2024, 25 cents reached education.
Lottery money to education by year
Since 2005: $1.3 billion p. 9 to education in total.
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 Oklahoma
511 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 Oklahoma 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: Oklahoma Lottery Commission, An Enterprise Fund of the State of Oklahoma, Financial Report, June 30, 2024 and 2023, Oklahoma Lottery Commission (audited; posted by the Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector), 2024-09-19. sai.ok.gov
- Lottery: Oklahoma Statutes Title 3A, Amusements and Sports (sec. 3A-713), Oklahoma Legislature. oklegislature.gov
- Checked November 2, 2026. How we track it · Report an error
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How is Oklahoma spending the education lottery money?
- Public school money, 2023-24$9.3 billion
- Spent per student$12,162
- Lottery money to education, FY2024$87.7 million
- Of each lottery dollar sold25 cents to education
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