A Study of Pennsylvania Public School Budgets, 2020-21

Last updated: May 27, 2022 - 1:07 pm

Each year, PSBA compiles a budget study designed to help school officials as they prepare to submit the annual school budget to the Pennsylvania Department of Education. The figures used are actual budget figures for the 2020-21 school year as reported in the annual financial report (PDE form 2057) for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021. This study provides school district state average per pupil and state average percent for expenditures and revenues. It is based on summaries of annual financial report data prepared by the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

2020-21 School District State Average Expenditures

Budget Category Expense Per Pupil
Percent Total Exp.
Instruction$11,85860.3%
Support Services
5,21526.5
Noninstructional Services2771.4
Facilities480.3
Other Expenses and Financing Uses2,26911.5
Total$19,667100%

2020-21 School District State Average Sources of Revenue

Budget Category
Revenue Per Pupil Percent Total Rev.
Local Revenue $11,13355.9%
State Revenue7,17336.0
Federal Revenue9804.9
Other Revenue6343.2
Total$19,920100%

(Based on 497 AFR’s as reported by the PA Department of Education, May 2022)
Prepared by the Pennsylvania School Boards Association

Definitions

  • Local Revenue – The sum of local taxes and local other revenue.
  • State Revenue – Revenue originating from Commonwealth appropriations and directly disbursed to the school districts.
  • Federal Revenue – Revenue originating from federal sources and made available to the school district through direct grants, state channels or other agencies conducting programs through the school district.
  • Other Revenue – Includes revenue from the sale of bonds, proceeds from extended term financing, interfund transfers, receipts from other local education agencies, sale of or compensation for loss of fixed assets, and refunds of prior years' expenditures.
  • Instruction Expense – Includes expenditures for activities dealing directly with the interaction between teachers and students, and related costs that can be directly attributed to a program of instruction.
  • Support Services Expense – Includes expenditures for those services that provide administrative, technical (such as guidance and health) and logistical support to facilitate and enhance instruction.
  • Noninstructional Services Expense – Includes expenditures for activities concerned with providing noninstructional services to students, staff or the community.
  • Facilities Expense – Includes expenditures for initial purchase of land, buildings, service systems and built-in equipment, construction, remodeling, additions and improvements to buildings; initial installation, replacement or extension of service systems and other built-in equipment; improvement to sites; and other related activities.
  • Other Expense and Financing Uses – Includes expenditures for the disbursement of governmental funds not classified in other functional areas that require budgetary and accounting control. These include debt service payments (principle and interest) and transfers of monies from one fund to another.
  • Per Pupil – The pupil figure used to calculate the per-pupil revenue and expenditure is the average daily membership (ADM).