The National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO) just published their annual State Expenditure Report. This latest edition examines state spending for fiscal years (FY) 2013-2015.
North Carolina was tied with Washington for 13th highest “elementary and secondary education expenditures as a percent of total expenditures,” spending 23.0 percent in FY 2015. That is up from 22.4 percent in FY 2014 and 22.9 percent in FY 2013.
In other words, North Carolina spends a larger share of its state budget on K-12 education than 36 other states. It also exceeds the national average share by nearly four percentage points.