Budget & Tax, Education

Oklahoma schools got $3 billion more. Much of it is sitting in the bank.

August 13, 2026

Ray Carter

Since the 2017-2018 school year, when teachers staged a walkout to protest what they described as insufficient education funding, total revenue to Oklahoma public schools has exploded.

In the 2017-2018 school year, schools reported having more than $6.3 billion in revenue from all sources. 

By the 2024-2025 school year, revenue exceeded $9.5 billion, an increase of more than $3 billion.

Yet Oklahoma’s academic outcomes have not improved. In fact, they have largely declined.

A new report indirectly highlights one partial explanation: In effect, much of the net new funding never reached the classroom.

Since 2018, school officials have increased the amount of money placed into carryover funds from around $2.4 billion in the 2017-2018 school year to more than $4.5 billion by the 2024-2025 school year.

Thus, while total revenue to Oklahoma public schools exploded by $3,286,594,799 from 2018 to 2025, state finance records show that $2,118,925,675—equivalent to more than 64 percent of the net annual increase in school revenue—was deposited into savings.

The office of Gov. Kevin Stitt released a report this week, prepared by former Secretary of Education Dan Hamlin pursuant to an executive order, that noted the outsized amount of money going into carryover funds, among other issues.

“The people of Oklahoma expect every education dollar to reach the classroom and make a difference for kids, not get lost in bureaucracy or sit idle in bank accounts,” Stitt said. “This report demonstrates that there is work to do on how we allocate and spend education funds.”

The report, “Strengthening Public School Finance in Oklahoma: Findings and Policy Options,” noted that the 2025 level of school carryover is approximately 30 percent of annual revenue for public schools in Oklahoma. In addition, 16 percent of Oklahoma public-school districts now have carryover reserves equal to 40 percent of their annual revenue.

The report also noted that 8 percent of all Oklahoma public-school districts have had high carryover, equaling 40 percent or more of total revenue, for three consecutive years (from 2023 to 2025).

Notably, even when Oklahoma schools do spend the increased funding received since 2018, it often goes to expenses outside the classroom.

Between the 2018-2019 school year and the 2024-2025 school year, staff numbers at Oklahoma public schools increased by 6,270 additional school employees. However, just 602 were teachers, or less than 10 percent, according to WANDA, a database maintained by the Edunomics Lab at Georgetown University.

According to federal National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) data for the 2023-2024 school year (the most recent available), instructional spending accounted for 58.5 percent of public schools' spending nationwide.

But in Oklahoma, just 53.7 percent went to instruction.

Oklahoma’s neighbors to both the north and south devoted substantially more to instruction.

In neighboring Texas, 56.7 percent of school funds went to instruction, while in Kansas the instructional share reached 57.6 percent.

Efforts to mandate that state schools spend at least 50 percent of their funding on instruction—something that roughly 150 of Oklahoma’s more than 500 school districts do not do—have faced strong opposition from public-school lobbyists at the Oklahoma Capitol.

State Rep. Chad Caldwell, an Enid Republican who has sought to increase instructional spending, said the Hamlin report highlights why many policymakers fear taxpayers are not getting the maximum bang for their buck from public-school funding increases.

“This is a continuation of a disappointing trend. Oklahomans were told that increased education funding would mean better pay for teachers and better outcomes for students. Sadly, neither has happened,” Caldwell said. “We know great teachers in the classroom are one of the best investments we can make, and education dollars should be working for students, not sitting on the sidelines. If we’re going to ask taxpayers to invest more, we should be able to show them how that money is making a difference for teachers and kids.”

Hamlin’s report noted one benefit schools reap by placing so much money into carryover funds: School officials generate interest earnings.

Hamlin’s review found Oklahoma school districts earned $121.5 million in interest returns in 2025 and $115.4 million in 2024, but the report also noted that this was less than a 3 percent return in both years.

The report suggested Oklahoma schools could generate higher returns with better management.

The Hamlin report also recommended that state officials update Oklahoma law to require that a specified portion of carryover balances and related interest earnings be dedicated to support teacher recruitment and retention, teacher salaries, instructional specialists, and instructional materials.

“District carryover balances and the interest income that these balances generate represent a conceivably underused source of funding for addressing critical challenges, such as persistent teacher recruitment and retention issues,” Hamlin wrote. “Although districts must maintain some reserves to manage cash flow, enrollment changes, emergencies, and other financial risks, excess carryover and interest earnings on carryover balances offer additional revenue without reducing current operating funds. Directing a portion of these earnings toward teacher recruitment bonuses, retention stipends, or targeted salary increases for hard-to-staff positions could result in more resources being used for high-leverage instructional investments.”