As states grapple with education challenges such as making up for COVID-19 lockdown-related learning loss and the expiration of federal pandemic aid, they may want to look at how Florida is getting an impressive return on its public education funding. For other states, Florida provides a model for doing more with less by pushing public schools to compete for students. The state may spend less per student on K-12 education, but not at the expense of student achievement.

A new Reason Foundation study found that between 2002 and 2020, Florida’s inflation-adjusted education funding went from $10,707 per student to $11,526 per student, ranking only 43rd across all 50 states in both spending growth and overall per-student spending. Florida has partially kept public education costs under control by ranking near the bottom in spending on support services, a Census Bureau reporting category that includes school administrators, counselors, and central office staff. This type of support services spending per student increased by 25% nationally, but grew by less than 5% in Florida.