Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Increases in School Instructional Spending Are Largest in Six Years

  • 07/24/15

New proprietary school expenditure research from MDR shows U.S. K-12 public schools increased instructional spending by a remarkable 9% in the 2013-2014 school year. This dramatic increase pumped an additional $964 million into the school materials market compared to the prior year’s baseline spending on All Instructional Materials (AIM), an MDR data measure.

MDR EdNET Insight and Research Senior Director, Kathleen Brantley, noted that “AIM spending saw a significant drop in the years following the 2008 economic downturn. Between 2008 and 2013, U.S. public school spending on instructional materials decreased by $2 billion. Increased expenditures for the 2013-2014 year represent the first upturn in many years.”

“We know from experience with our own business as well as our clients’ that the market has been bouncing back,” said Steve Gatland, Vice President of Sales at MDR. “But our annual analysis of spending across U.S. public schools was even more profound than expected. The opportunities for our clients to see real growth are the best they’ve been in a decade. It is an exciting time for our schools and the companies and organizations who are helping students grow intellectually, emotionally, and socially.”

For the $11.8 billion educational materials market, this reversal in the spending trend indicates school districts are on much firmer financial footing to purchase instructional materials aligned to the Common Core Standards and assessment protocols and that are adapted to new instructional models, such as blended learning, flipped classrooms, and personalized learning.

Learn More
As the leading provider of education market insight and marketing solutions, MDR is uniquely positioned to identify emerging shifts in spending trends at the district level. See MDR’s School Spending Update infographic for public school expenditures for the 2013-2014 school year with both per student AIM and per student operational spending details. For more information, visit schooldata.com.

Featured

  • California School District Completes Elementary School Modernization

    The San Diego Unified School District in San Diego, Calif., recently held a ribbon-cutting for a whole-site modernization of Pacific Beach Elementary School, according to local news. The school first opened with one building in 1930 and added six more between 1938 and 1957.

  • DFW-Area District Opens New Replacement Middle School

    The Eagle Mountain-Saginaw Independent School District near Fort Worth, Texas, recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new replacement middle school campus, according to a news release. The new facility for Wayside Middle School, originally established in 1964, was built on the site of the former district administration building and funded through Bond Proposition A in 2023.

  • Children walking along bright school corridor with motion blur

    How Next-Gen Design Is Reshaping the Student Experience

    The environments where students learn play a crucial role in shaping their growth in and out of the classroom. By centering design on well-being, flexibility, and purpose, districts can ensure their facilities remain vibrant community assets for many years to come.

  • How a Portable Sink Helped an Art Classroom Run More Smoothly

    Classroom design decisions can have outsized effects on instructional time and safety at schools juggling mismatched infrastructure, strict budgets, and crowded schedules — particularly in the arts. Between spilled paint and dirty brushes, art classes run smoother with a sink in the studio. But many schools don’t have a sink in every art classroom.