Track Every Dollar
Virginia: every school dollar
Where Virginia'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$24.4 billion
- Spent per student, day to day$17,104U.S.: $17,619
- Students1,258,795132 school systems
- Lottery money to education$902 millionFY2025
Where the money comes from
$24.4 billion in the 2023-24 school year. Select federal, state or local to see every line.
Federal $2.4 billion9.8%
Inside the federal total: $983 million of pandemic relief (ESSER and related funds), which ended in 2024.
State $10.1 billion41.3%
Local $11.9 billion48.9%
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
$24.2 billion spent. Select support services for every line.
Inside these totals: $13.1 billion in salaries and wages, $5.3 billion in employee benefits. Long-term debt at year end: $9.1 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 Virginia in fiscal year 2025: $2.3 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 Virginia'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 | Virginia | Share of the national total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pell Grants | College grants to students with financial need | $1.1 billion | 2.7% |
| School lunch | National School Lunch Program (Department of Agriculture) | $687 million | 2.5% |
| Special education (IDEA) | Grants to states for students with disabilities, ages 3 to 21 | $341 million | 2.4% |
| Title I | Grants to schools with many students from low-income families | $336 million | 1.8% |
| Head Start | Early childhood programs (Department of Health and Human Services) | $172 million | 1.5% |
| Impact Aid | Payments to districts with federal land or military families | $41.7 million | 2.7% |
| Title II, teachers | Supporting effective instruction: teacher and principal training | $41.6 million | 1.9% |
| Federal Work-Study | Part-time jobs for college students with need | $37.8 million | 3.3% |
| Career and technical education | Perkins basic grants to states | $32.5 million | 2.3% |
| College opportunity grants (SEOG) | Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants | $26.0 million | 2.9% |
| Title IV-A | Student support and academic enrichment grants | $22.6 million | 1.7% |
| After school (21st Century) | 21st Century Community Learning Centers | $22.5 million | 1.7% |
| English learners (Title III) | English language acquisition grants | $19.0 million | 2.2% |
| Special education, preschool | Preschool grants for children with disabilities, ages 3 to 5 | $9.7 million | 2.4% |
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 Virginia spending the education lottery money?
All lottery net revenues go to the Lottery Proceeds Fund, which the Constitution directs be appropriated to localities and school divisions for public education; unclaimed prizes go to the Literary Fund for school construction loans. The lottery began in 1988.
What the law says
The promise: All net revenues of the lottery go to the Lottery Proceeds Fund for public education; appropriation for other purposes requires a four-fifths vote of each house. No percentage of sales is set.
"Lottery proceeds shall be appropriated from the Fund to the Commonwealth's counties, cities and towns, and the school divisions thereof, to be expended for the purposes of public education."
Va. Const. art. X, sec. 7-A; Va. Code 58.1-4022.1 law.lis.virginia.gov
- Tickets sold$5.8 billion p. 39
- Prizes 78%$4.5 billion p. 39
- Retailers 2%$128 million p. 39
- Running the lottery 2%$106 million p. 39
- To education 16%$902 million p. 39
- Other costs and reserves 2%$113 million tickets sold minus the rows above
Of every dollar of Virginia lottery tickets sold in FY2025, 16 cents reached education.
Lottery money to education by year
Since 1988: $14.5 billion p. 8 to education in total.
Every school system in Virginia
132 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 Virginia 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: The Virginia Lottery Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2025, Virginia Lottery (posted by the Auditor of Public Accounts). dlasprodpublic.blob.core.windows.net
- Lottery: Constitution of Virginia, Article X, Section 7-A, Lottery Proceeds Fund; distribution of lottery revenues, Virginia General Assembly (Virginia Law). law.lis.virginia.gov
- Lottery: Code of Virginia 58.1-4022.1, Lottery Proceeds Fund, Virginia General Assembly (Virginia Law). law.lis.virginia.gov
- Lottery: Benefiting K-12 Public Education (Virginia Lottery Revenue Distribution table), Virginia Lottery. valottery.com
- Lottery: Virginia Lottery Popular Annual Financial Report, Fiscal Year 2025, Virginia Lottery. cdnprodpaasmedia-valottery-com.azureedge.net
- Lottery: Virginia Lottery Report on Audit for the Year Ended June 30, 2025, Virginia Auditor of Public Accounts. dlasprodpublic.blob.core.windows.net
- Lottery: A win for education! FY26 Lottery Proceeds (education programs supported), Virginia Lottery. cdnprodpaasmedia-valottery-com.azureedge.net
- Checked November 2, 2026. How we track it · Report an error
Take it with you
Track Every Dollar
How is Virginia spending the education lottery money?
- Public school money, 2023-24$24.4 billion
- Spent per student$17,104
- Lottery money to education, FY2025$902 million
- Of each lottery dollar sold16 cents to education
democratic-republican-party.com/track-every-dollar/virginia/