Let’s be honest: the goal in education is not to spend the most. Actually, the goal should be to get the most for what we spend. Still, it takes money to run a school or other educational program.

Some unions and other political groups claim that Oklahoma is “dead last” in school funding in our region, even after big tax hikes and pay raises in 2018.

Oklahoma spending is notoriously fragmented, with many “funding silos” that make it easy to play games with the numbers. Those demanding more tax increases usually leave out some of what taxpayers actually pay for teacher benefits, like the off-the-top state taxpayer contributions to the Oklahoma Teachers Retirement System which totaled, in fiscal year 2016, $315,672,000.

What’s the truth? Below are some numbers so you can make up your own mind. Data are from the National Center for Education Statistics.

Per student spending

U.S. Average	$13,458
Missouri	$13,228
Regional Average	$13,155
Arkansas	$12,793
Texas	$12,780
New Mexico	$12,076
Kansas	$11,710
Oklahoma*	$11,091
Colorado	$10,935

*Oklahoma's total spending per student figure includes the 2018 funding increase. Please note that other states may have adjusted funding as well.

But what is going on in those states? It turns out, local funds play an important role.

Local funding for public schools in Oklahoma significantly trails both the regional average (by nearly 6 percentage points) and the national average (by nearly 7 percentage points). This disparity is significant. Holding all other funding constant, if local areas in Oklahoma increased the amount of local funding to public schools by 7 percent, it would mean an additional $438 million ($495 million when adjusted for cost of living) for public schools.

Data below are from the National Center for Education Statistics.

Revenue sources as a share of total revenue

	State	Local	Federal
New Mexico	70.04%	16.23%	13.73%
Kansas	63.15%	28.42%	8.43%
Arkansas	51.09%	37.31%	11.60%
Oklahoma	48.33%	40.17%	11.50%
U.S. Average	44.79%	46.96%	8.25%
Regional Average	43.81%	46.09%	10.10%
Colorado	43.72%	49.22%	7.06%
Texas	40.89%	48.56%	10.56%
Missouri	32.98%	58.40%	8.63%

One factor behind Oklahoma’s wild swings in tax revenues and low rate of local contributions is our relatively low property taxes. Local revenues tend to come from property taxes and be much more stable and reliable than state taxes that swing back and forth with economic conditions. Oklahoma has the lowest property taxes in our region, on a per person basis.

Regional property tax per capita

Texas	$1,762	1st
Kansas	$1,490	2nd
Colorado	$1,425	3rd
Missouri	$971	4th
New Mexico	$768	5th
Arkansas	$712	6th
Oklahoma	$699	7th

Source: The Tax Foundation, FY 2016

It also matters how much money actually gets to the classroom, rather than being spent on state or local administration or other programs (like travel and unneeded buildings).

Categorizing how money gets spent is notoriously tricky, but the numbers below are from the National Center for Education Statistics.

Instruction spending as a share of education spending

U.S. Average	60.90%
Kansas	59.76%
Missouri	59.21%
Texas	58.43%
Regional Average	58.03%
New Mexico	56.89%
Colorado	56.34%
Arkansas	56.12%
Oklahoma	55.75%

You can search and view more, including details for your own school district, using OCPA’s Data Tools. And you can use the form below to stay informed by signing up for OCPA updates.

Finally, while money matters, what matters most are results. Many teachers leave the profession not for higher pay, but because of frustration with a system that fails to empower them. School districts can choose to waive some state mandates, but few actually do. OCPA works to give both teachers and parents more power—in the form of more choices. We believe more opportunities for teachers and for students is the best way to get the best results for our investment in education.

All data have been adjusted for cost-of-living differences using the Cost of Living Data Series by the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center (MERIC).