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

  • Florida Gulf Coast University Selects Builder for New Academic Building

    Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, Fla., recently announced that it has selected development and construction firm Skanska to build a new academic and health sciences building, according to a news release. Marieb Hall South will become the campus’ largest academic building at 158,040 square feet.

  • Hawaii Elementary School Reopens Following $25M Campus Modernization

    Haʻaheo Elementary School in Hilo, Hawaii, has reopened to students following a three-year, $25-million campus modernization and expansion project that significantly increases the school's instructional space while preserving one of the island's oldest educational institutions, according to local news.

  • UPenn Announces Completion of New Veterinary Education Facility

    The University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Penn., recently finished construction on an 11,800-square-foot veterinary education building, according to a news release. The Gail P. Riepe Center for Advanced Veterinary Education is the first dedicated classroom facility at the New Bolton Center, a large-animal hospital and campus about 35 miles west of the campus proper.