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The most dishonest talking point used by opponents of school choice is that public schools are underfunded. They hide behind the complexity of the school financing system to claim schools only receive roughly $6000 per student. That number refers to what’s known as the basic allotment, but then each school receives additional money based on a formula that few people truly understand.
Luckily for those of us who lack math degrees, the Texas Education Agency compiles it all into one chart that tells the truth about how much money schools spend and the real per student averages.
According to TEA, total operating expenditures for the 2022-2023 school year were over $92.4 billion, which is $16,792 per student, not $6000. Even when you exclude money for facilities, Texas spent over $68.1 billion on operating expenditures or $12,389 per student. That’s more than double what opponents of school choice claim Texas spends.
To add some context, the $92 billion Texas spends on public education is more than the entire state budgets of 45 states.
Further, opponents routinely claim schools received no new money, but the data reveals that is also false. Education funding grew more than $7.5 billion from the previous year, making it the largest year-over-year increase in state history.
So, while spending grows, the numbers that matter most – the number of students who can read and do math at grade level – never seem to improve. Add that to the spread of radical race and gender theory permeating classrooms, inappropriate material found in school libraries, and rogue administrators pushing election-year politics, it’s no wonder parents are demanding the right to access more and better educational options.