The Condition of Education and the Education Marketplace

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has a mandate to report to Congress on the condition of education by June 1 of each year. Their recently released report, The Condition of Education 2018, gives us a look at the trends and developments in education using the latest available data. When looking at enrollment, public school enrollment has increased from 50.31 million in 2015 to 50.44 million in 2016. The number of students enrolled in public charter schools has increased from 2.7 million in 2014 to 2.8 million in 2015.

While the number of students continues to increase, the revenues stayed the same at about $664 billion. In the 2014-2015 school year, revenues for public schools looked like this: $56.4 billion from federal sources, $309 billion from state sources, $298.5 billion from local sources. Compared to the prior year, the federal contribution stayed about the same, while the state sources increased by $11 billion and the local funding increased by about $9 billion. During that same school year, total expenditures rose to $668 billion, or about $11,734 per student.

While it is nearly impossible to predict where education funding will end up in the next few years, indications are that this trend may continue, or, even more likely, schools will be forced to do more with less.

With this in mind, we present our annual Facilities Sourcebook, which is designed to serve as a year-round reference guide to facilities, security, technology and business services and products for the K-12 market. The businesses that are featured in this special section are advertisers that regularly support this magazine. Without them, we would not exist. We ask that you take that into consideration when you make future decisions about purchasing materials and services.

By the time you receive this issue, most of you will have begun a new school year. May it be a successful one!

A reminder, you can follow me on Twitter, @SPM_editor, and you are always welcome to contact me with your thoughts and ideas at [email protected].

This article originally appeared in the School Planning & Management July/August 2018 issue of Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • New City School

    Turning Crisis into Opportunity: Transforming New City School

    When New City School in St. Louis suffered catastrophic flood damage in July 2022, the event could have marked a serious setback for the 100-year-old institution. Instead, it became a forward-looking opportunity.

  • Full Sail University Announces First Student Housing Facility

    Full Sail University in Winter Park, Fla., recently announced that development has begun on its first student housing community, according to a news release. The university is partnering with Nvision Development for construction and long-term management of the facility, which will stand five stories and have the capacity for more than 570 beds.

  • Indiana Wesleyan University Schedules Grand Opening for New Welcome Center

    Indiana Wesleyan University recently announced that it will soon open a new Welcome Center on its campus in Marion, Ind., according to a news release. The facility will serve as the home base for prospective students and their families to learn more about the university and student life there. A ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for February 19.

  • South Carolina District Starts Construction on $50M Middle School Renovation

    The Aiken County Public School District in North Augusta, S.C., recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the $50-million renovation and expansion of North Augusta Middle School, according to a news release. The project’s funding comes from the 2024 renewal of a one-cent sales tax approved by local voters.