The New York City School District ($38.5 billion) and Los Angeles Unified ($12.5 billion) — both among the highest-spending districts — received the most combined federal, state and local revenue of the 100 largest school systems by enrollment.

New York City School District received 6.6% of its FY 2022 revenue­ from federal sources; 29.8% from state sources; and 63.6% from local sources. In contrast, Los Angeles Unified received 19.2% of its FY 2022 revenue from federal sources; 54.5% from state sources; and 26.3% from local sources.

The national average of revenue received from federal sources was 13.6%; 43.7% from state sources, and 42.7% from local sources. (Figure 1)  

Federal revenue increased 39.6% from FY 2021 to FY 2022 and 47.6% from FY 2020 to FY 2021. These increases were largely the result of the legislative response to COVID-19, such as the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act; Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act 2021 (CRRSA); and the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act.

While Instructional Salaries ($266.4 billion) continued to account for the largest category in current spending nationwide, there was a significant increase from FY 2021 to FY 2022 in both Food Services and Transportation expenditures as schools returned to in-person learning.

The decrease in FY 2020 and FY 2021 from prior years was a direct cause of distance learning prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic (Figure 2).