April 17, 2023 – Baltimore, MD - Results of Allovue’s first annual Education Finance Survey can be viewed at allovue.com/study. Commissioned by Allovue and conducted by the independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan EdWeek Research Center, the survey set out to discover educators’ perceptions of school funding, budgets, and spending—and to determine if there were any information gaps.
In November and December of 2022, the 36-question survey was administered to 1,303 U.S.-based teachers, principals, assistant principals, and district leaders. Ultimately, responses revealed misunderstandings, uncertainty, and varying opinions about key topics in K-12 finance, such as the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER), teacher compensation, per-pupil expenses, and principals’ budget autonomy.
“As schools and districts grapple with ongoing pandemic-related challenges, public scrutiny of ESSER, declining enrollment, and staffing issues, internal misconceptions about funding and spending pose an existential threat to the stability of public education,” said Jess Gartner, CEO & Founder of Allovue. “We are proud to partner with the EdWeek Research Center to call attention to information gaps and help facilitate critical conversations, collaboration, and greater clarity about school resources.”
The study also introduces the Allovue Education Spending Confidence Index, a measure designed to provide a high-level reading of educators’ confidence in their employers’ overall financial status. This measure was created to enable trend analysis for future survey iterations. On a scale ranging from -100 to +100 (scores below zero indicate lower confidence, and scores above zero indicate higher confidence), the Education Spending Confidence Index score was -38.
“The survey speaks to important questions about how teachers and administrators view school finance,” said Holly Kurtz, director of the EdWeek Research Center. “Like members of the public, they do have some knowledge gaps. These gaps can hopefully be addressed so that decisions about resource allocation can be based on current and accurate information.”
The study concludes with points to keep in mind as educators, parents, policymakers, and taxpayers continue to navigate the complexities of K-12 finance.
About the EdWeek Research Center
The EdWeek Research Center is the independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan research arm of Editorial Projects of Education (EPE), publisher of Education Week and EdWeek Market Brief. With a staff of full-time researchers, the Center conducts original surveys and in-depth data analyses for EPE and its publications and also for external clients including for-profit and nonprofit organizations and educational institutions.
About Allovue
Allovue provides innovative education finance technology solutions to K-12 education leaders and communities nationwide to help them allocate, budget, and manage school spending. The company also provides districts and states with customized services including resource equity analysis and public transparency reporting. Allovue’s flagship product is a web-based software platform designed to help K-12 administrators strategically plan and spend education resources.
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Senior Executive Manager