Understanding how public school districts are spending education dollars is essential for ensuring Connecticut’s investments in K-12 education are transparent, equitable, and effective. The most recent expenditure data released by the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) offers an opportunity to examine how dollars were spent by Connecticut’s public school districts during the 2024-25 school year, and how education spending has evolved over the last five years. In total, 191 school districts reported a combined $11.7 billion in spending for the 2024-25 school year that supported roughly 520,000 students across the state.
This briefing examines how funding has evolved since 2021, a period that was shaped by unprecedented federal funding in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, rising inflation greatly impacted the purchasing power of those federal dollars, adding complexity to the picture of year-to-year expenditures. With this context as a backdrop, this analysis explores how spending has changed over the last five years, breaks down expenditures by function and object, and highlights key trends in spending for special education services and tuition.
Citation
School and State Finance Project. (2026). The State of School District Spending in Connecticut. Southington, CT: Author. Retrieved from https://files.schoolstatefinance.org/hubfs/Reports/State%20of%20School%20District%20Spending%20in%20Connecticut.pdf.