How The COVID-19 Pandemic Affected School Funding In MA

MASSACHUSETTS — School spending per student plummeted in Massachusetts during the pandemic, with per-pupil spending knocked back to 2012 levels, according to data from the 2021 Annual Survey of School System Finances recently released by the Census Bureau.

In 2012, public spending per student in Massachusetts was $14,142, according to the data. That figure rose steadily to more than $18,000 in 2020. Spending in fiscal year 2021 in Massachusetts dropped to about $15,000, according to the report, which looked at the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on school spending.

The federal government provided $190 billion in COVID-19 relief funds to public schools, an infusion of cash reflected in the data.

According to the Census report, most spending school spending in Massachusetts — food services, transportation, administration — stayed flat. Spending on instruction took a more noticeable hit: down to about $9 billion in fiscal 2021, a $2 billion drop from fiscal 2020.

During the pandemic, Massachusetts received $2.6 billion in stimulus funds from the federal government through the ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund) program. ESSER money came in three funds with different purposes, including responding directly to the pandemic (ESSER 1), reopening schools (ESSER 2) and addressing learning loss (ESSER 3). Most districts are still working through ESSER 3. For example, Boston has claimed 100 percent of ESSER 1 funds, but only 14 percent of ESSER 3, according to state estimates.

The Census Bureau said that nationally, public school funding increased by 6.3 percent between fiscal years 2020 and 2021, the largest increase since 2008. Nationally, per pupil spending averaged $14,373 in fiscal year 2021, compared to $13,501 the year prior.

School spending is up more than 35 percent over the past 10 years, according to the report. In 2012, an average of $10,608 was spent per student.

Also, according to the data, public school spending per pupil in all 50 states and the District and Columbia, increased for the 10th consecutive year in 2021. Since 2012, school spending has increased by more than 35 percent, up from an average of $10,608.