Since 2008, Districts' State Revenue Losses Have Been Bigger Than Local & Federal Gains

| Post by Susan Perkins Weston |

From 2008 to 2016, looking at average inflation-adjusted per pupil dollars, Kentucky’s districts saw:

• A $168 increase in local revenue
• A $68 increase in federal revenue
• An $820 decline in state revenue sent to the school districts
• A $389 increase in state payments on behalf of school districts
• A $194 decline when those four sources are combined

Those rising on behalf payments include state payments for school employees’ health insurance and for teachers’ retirement, along with some other items. In 2008 reports, reported total district revenues did not include those payments, so the amounts above reflect the on-behalf totals from a separate page of the same spreadsheet file.

Still, it should be clear that when you add the two parts of the state funding together, the totals are down since 2008, and down by more than the increase in local and federal money flowing in.

The relevant state reports also list some "other revenue." An upcoming post will explain why those dollars may not reflect added district ability to meet student needs, so stay tuned.

Details for Number Lovers:

Source Notes:
FY 2008 local, federal, and state (excluding on behalf) revenue totals are from the Receipts tab of “Receipts and Expenditures 2007 2008” spreadsheet, downloaded from education.ky.gov.

FY 2008 state on behalf revenue total is from the On Behalf tab of the same spreadsheet of “Receipts and Expenditures 2007 2008” spreadsheet.

Inflation-adjusted 2008 revenue totals reflect a 12.61% increase to show change in the Consumer Price Index from December 2007 to December 2015 (using December as the midpoint of each fiscal year and inflation rates from the BLS CPI calculator).

FY 2016 local, federal, state, and state revenue totals are from the 2016 AFR Revenue tab of “Revenues and Expenditures 2015-2016 ” spreadsheet, also downloaded from education.ky.gov. 

Per pupil amounts reflect the total revenue dollars, divided by 585,496 pupils in average daily attendance in FY 2008 or 618,455 pupils in average daily attendance in FY 2016, taken from the spreadsheets listed above.