Track Every Dollar
Tennessee: every school dollar
Where Tennessee'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$15.2 billion
- Spent per student, day to day$12,882U.S.: $17,619
- Students991,563141 school systems
- Lottery money to education$412 millionFY2025
Where the money comes from
$15.2 billion in the 2023-24 school year. Select federal, state or local to see every line.
Federal $2.4 billion15.9%
Inside the federal total: $1.0 billion of pandemic relief (ESSER and related funds), which ended in 2024.
State $6.7 billion44.3%
Local $6.0 billion39.8%
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
$14.8 billion spent. Select support services for every line.
Inside these totals: $7.5 billion in salaries and wages, $2.4 billion in employee benefits. Long-term debt at year end: $6.5 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 Tennessee in fiscal year 2025: $1.8 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 Tennessee'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 | Tennessee | Share of the national total |
|---|---|---|---|
| School lunch | National School Lunch Program (Department of Agriculture) | $816 million | 2.9% |
| Pell Grants | College grants to students with financial need | $790 million | 2.0% |
| Title I | Grants to schools with many students from low-income families | $350 million | 1.9% |
| Special education (IDEA) | Grants to states for students with disabilities, ages 3 to 21 | $288 million | 2.0% |
| Head Start | Early childhood programs (Department of Health and Human Services) | $236 million | 2.0% |
| Title II, teachers | Supporting effective instruction: teacher and principal training | $46.5 million | 2.1% |
| Career and technical education | Perkins basic grants to states | $30.8 million | 2.2% |
| Title IV-A | Student support and academic enrichment grants | $24.8 million | 1.8% |
| After school (21st Century) | 21st Century Community Learning Centers | $24.2 million | 1.8% |
| Federal Work-Study | Part-time jobs for college students with need | $18.9 million | 1.7% |
| College opportunity grants (SEOG) | Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants | $16.0 million | 1.8% |
| English learners (Title III) | English language acquisition grants | $12.3 million | 1.4% |
| Special education, preschool | Preschool grants for children with disabilities, ages 3 to 5 | $7.1 million | 1.8% |
| Impact Aid | Payments to districts with federal land or military families | $2.3 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 Tennessee spending the education lottery money?
The Tennessee Constitution allows a state lottery only if net proceeds first fund financial assistance for Tennesseans to attend in-state post-secondary institutions, with any excess going to K-12 capital outlay and early learning and after school programs; net proceeds go to the state's Lottery for Education Account. The lottery began in 2004.
What the law says
The promise: All net proceeds to education: first to financial assistance for in-state post-secondary attendance; any excess to K-12 capital outlay and to early learning and after school programs; proceeds to supplement, not supplant, non-lottery educational resources.
"the legislature may authorize a state lottery if the net proceeds of the lottery's revenues are allocated to provide financial assistance to citizens of this state to enable such citizens to attend post-secondary educational institutions located within this state."
Tenn. Const. art. XI, sec. 5 (as quoted in Tennessee Attorney General Opinion No. 11-20) tn.gov
- Tickets sold$1.7 billion p. 243
- Prizes 64%$1.1 billion p. 243
- RetailersUnknown
- Running the lotteryUnknown
- Sent to the state for its programs 25%$430 million p. 243
- Of what was sent to the state, to education$412 million p. 115
Of every dollar of Tennessee 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.
- Traditional HOPE scholarship (2024-2025 academic year)$227 million p. 1
- Non-Traditional HOPE (2024-2025 academic year)$1.4 million p. 1
- HOPE with the General Assembly Merit supplement (2024-2025 academic year)$51.6 million p. 1
- HOPE with the Aspire need-based supplement (2024-2025 academic year)$88.1 million p. 1
- Wilder-Naifeh Technical Skills (2024-2025 academic year)$15.7 million p. 1
- Tennessee College of Applied Technology Reconnect (2024-2025 academic year)$2.1 million p. 1
- Tennessee Promise Scholarship (2024-2025 academic year)$23.2 million p. 1
- Dual Enrollment Grant (2024-2025 academic year)$70.7 million p. 2
- Middle College Scholarship (2024-2025 academic year)$4.3 million p. 2
- Helping Heroes Grant (2024-2025 academic year)$345,500 p. 2
- Tennessee STEP UP (2024-2025 academic year)$448,450 p. 2
Still being verified: retailers, running the lottery.
Every school system in Tennessee
141 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 Tennessee 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: State of Tennessee Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2025, State of Tennessee, Department of Finance and Administration. tn.gov
- Lottery: Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship Program Summary Report, 2024-2025 TELS Summary Report, Tennessee Higher Education Commission. tn.gov
- Lottery: Tennessee Attorney General Opinion No. 11-20 (quoting Article XI, Section 5 of the Tennessee Constitution), Office of the Tennessee Attorney General, 2011-03-04. tn.gov
- Checked November 2, 2026. How we track it · Report an error
Take it with you
Track Every Dollar
How is Tennessee spending the education lottery money?
- Public school money, 2023-24$15.2 billion
- Spent per student$12,882
- Lottery money to education, FY2025$412 million
- Of each lottery dollar sold24 cents to education
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