Track Every Dollar
Vermont: every school dollar
Where Vermont'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$2.6 billion
- Spent per student, day to day$28,818U.S.: $17,619
- Students81,265144 school systems
- Lottery money to education$30.0 millionFY2025
Where the money comes from
$2.6 billion in the 2023-24 school year. Select federal, state or local to see every line.
Federal $275 million10.4%
Inside the federal total: $120 million of pandemic relief (ESSER and related funds), which ended in 2024.
State $2.3 billion87.0%
Local $67.4 million2.6%
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
$2.7 billion spent. Select support services for every line.
Inside these totals: $1.2 billion in salaries and wages, $443 million in employee benefits. Long-term debt at year end: $490 million.
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 Vermont in fiscal year 2025: $193 million. 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 Vermont'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 | Vermont | Share of the national total |
|---|---|---|---|
| School lunch | National School Lunch Program (Department of Agriculture) | $48.3 million | 0.2% |
| Pell Grants | College grants to students with financial need | $47.9 million | 0.1% |
| Title I | Grants to schools with many students from low-income families | $42.3 million | 0.2% |
| Special education (IDEA) | Grants to states for students with disabilities, ages 3 to 21 | $35.5 million | 0.3% |
| Head Start | Early childhood programs (Department of Health and Human Services) | $28.3 million | 0.2% |
| Title II, teachers | Supporting effective instruction: teacher and principal training | $9.3 million | 0.4% |
| After school (21st Century) | 21st Century Community Learning Centers | $6.6 million | 0.5% |
| Career and technical education | Perkins basic grants to states | $5.9 million | 0.4% |
| Title IV-A | Student support and academic enrichment grants | $5.5 million | 0.4% |
| Federal Work-Study | Part-time jobs for college students with need | $5.4 million | 0.5% |
| College opportunity grants (SEOG) | Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants | $4.3 million | 0.5% |
| Special education, preschool | Preschool grants for children with disabilities, ages 3 to 5 | $764,991 | 0.2% |
| English learners (Title III) | English language acquisition grants | $437,624 | under 0.1% |
| Impact Aid | Payments to districts with federal land or military families | $310,802 | under 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 Vermont spending the education lottery money?
State law sends lottery money remaining after prizes and costs to the Education Fund, to be used solely for State and local funding of public education. The lottery began in 1977.
What the law says
The promise: All lottery profit after prizes and costs goes to the Education Fund; no fixed percentage or dollar amount is set.
"the transfer of monies to the Education Fund established by 16 V.S.A. § 4025, to be used solely for the purposes of State and local funding of public education."
31 V.S.A. 651; 31 V.S.A. 652(b); 31 V.S.A. 677 legislature.vermont.gov
- Tickets sold$156 million p. 4
- Prizes 65%$102 million p. 9
- Retailers 6%$9.3 million p. 9
- Running the lotteryUnknown
- To education 19%$30.0 million p. 1
Of every dollar of Vermont lottery tickets sold in FY2025, 19 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.
- Education Fund$30.0 million p. 1
Still being verified: running the lottery.
Every school system in Vermont
144 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 Vermont 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: Vermont Department of Liquor and Lottery 2025 Annual Report, Vermont Department of Liquor and Lottery. liquorandlottery.vermont.gov
- Lottery: Commissioner Knight Follow-up to Testimony in Senate Appropriations Committee, January 21, 2026, Vermont Department of Liquor and Lottery (posted by the Vermont General Assembly), 2026-01-21. legislature.vermont.gov
- Lottery: Vermont Statutes Title 31, Chapter 14, State Lottery, Vermont General Assembly. legislature.vermont.gov
- Checked November 2, 2026. How we track it · Report an error
Take it with you
Track Every Dollar
How is Vermont spending the education lottery money?
- Public school money, 2023-24$2.6 billion
- Spent per student$28,818
- Lottery money to education, FY2025$30.0 million
- Of each lottery dollar sold19 cents to education
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