Annual spending, enrollment and prices

What this dataset measures

Built to check a widely shared claim that Seattle Public Schools' budget rose 96% from 2014 to 2025 while enrollment stayed near 48,500. Uses the state's year-end financial records (F-196) for every district so Seattle and the statewide total are measured the same way.

Geography

Seattle, Washington, Washington

Unit of observation

School district and school year

Update cadence

Annual, after OSPI posts F-196 data (December)

Curator

FactHub Research Team

Curated data tables

Annual spending, enrollment and prices

One row per school year, 2013-14 to 2024-25.

Unit of observation: School year (September-August)

seattle-schools-budget-annual.csv text/csv · 2.2 KB (2,278 bytes)

All 12 rows 17 columns Download the file

All 12 rows

school_year	sps_gf_expenditures US dollars	sps_gf_revenues_and_other_sources US dollars	sps_enrollment_ospi_per_pupil_basis students (FTE)	sps_k12_headcount_oct_report_card students	sps_prek_headcount_report_card students	sps_gf_exp_per_student US dollars	seattle_cpi_u_school_year_avg index 1982-84=100	sps_gf_exp_per_student_2024_25_dollars_seattle_cpi 2024-25 US dollars	sps_gf_exp_2024_25_dollars_seattle_cpi 2024-25 US dollars	sl_gov_price_index_school_year_avg index 2017=100	sps_gf_exp_per_student_2024_25_dollars_sl_deflator 2024-25 US dollars	us_cpi_u_school_year_avg index 1982-84=100	wa_gf_expenditures US dollars	wa_enrollment_ospi_per_pupil_basis students (FTE)	wa_gf_exp_per_student US dollars	wa_gf_exp_per_student_2024_25_dollars_seattle_cpi 2024-25 US dollars
2013-14	611682782.97	614818220.79	49979.53	—	—	12239	244.676	17987	898994589	96.890	16674	235.685	10763802742.03	1037834.97	10371	15243
2014-15	648066617.46	660923106.29	51168.46	52182	1179	12665	248.208	18349	938912649	97.796	17095	236.749	11296205450.81	1051082.92	10747	15570
2015-16	710607690.71	723676132.88	51908.91	52625	1142	13690	253.163	19445	1009372730	97.352	18562	238.649	12308143017.12	1074908.95	11450	16265
2016-17	752156924.72	768107526.63	54131.26	53410	1312	13895	260.319	19194	1039021389	98.574	18607	243.392	13078660403.61	1099227.62	11898	16436
2017-18	816683370.97	837283605.02	54622.71	53908	1413	14951	268.810	20001	1092519963	102.041	19341	249.280	14281633855.49	1112719.23	12835	17170
2018-19	913687821.68	951818093.18	54537.28	53685	1640	16753	276.181	21814	1189669863	105.015	21058	254.016	15910940924.66	1117394.73	14239	18540
2019-20	966875780.07	962936209.28	55303.18	54489	1562	17483	281.110	22365	1236846398	106.938	21581	257.721	16529878455.73	1127526.90	14660	18754
2020-21	973784863.88	1011204090.55	52961.30	53142	879	18387	290.202	22784	1206660966	111.684	21732	265.447	16901746710.17	1075246.73	15719	19478
2021-22	1054331381.59	1043904848.49	51026.73	50815	838	20662	314.668	23613	1204886090	121.494	22449	285.848	18468601374.12	1072894.77	17214	19672
2022-23	1124214949.46	1082609937.08	50837.59	50574	954	22114	336.720	23617	1200611657	127.175	22953	301.374	19784149242.43	1080350.11	18313	19557
2023-24	1138288131.07	1125335672.03	50447.44	49861	1107	22564	350.628	23141	1167421024	129.738	22957	310.955	20272431869.02	1085189.96	18681	19159
2024-25	1195855065.08	1172148744.15	50542.03	50044	1156	23661	359.602	23661	1195855065	132.001	23661	319.205	21081063857.94	1088261.99	19371	19371

17 field definitions

Field	Type	Meaning	Units	Value type
school_year	string	School year		observed
sps_gf_expenditures	number	Seattle general fund expenditures, all programs	US dollars	observed
sps_gf_revenues_and_other_sources	number	Seattle general fund revenues and other financing sources	US dollars	observed
sps_enrollment_ospi_per_pupil_basis	number	Enrollment OSPI uses for per-pupil figures (K-12 FTE plus some special-education and institutional students)	students (FTE)	observed
sps_k12_headcount_oct_report_card	integer	October headcount, all grades minus pre-kindergarten; blank for 2013-14 (series starts 2014-15)	students	observed
sps_prek_headcount_report_card	integer	October pre-kindergarten headcount; blank for 2013-14	students	observed
sps_gf_exp_per_student	number	General fund expenditures per student	US dollars	derived
seattle_cpi_u_school_year_avg	number	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue CPI-U, average of published months September-August	index 1982-84=100	derived
sps_gf_exp_per_student_2024_25_dollars_seattle_cpi	number	Spending per student in 2024-25 dollars	2024-25 US dollars	derived
sps_gf_exp_2024_25_dollars_seattle_cpi	number	General fund expenditures in 2024-25 dollars	2024-25 US dollars	derived
sl_gov_price_index_school_year_avg	number	BEA state and local government implicit price deflator, Q3-Q2 average	index 2017=100	derived
sps_gf_exp_per_student_2024_25_dollars_sl_deflator	number	Spending per student in 2024-25 dollars using the BEA index	2024-25 US dollars	derived
us_cpi_u_school_year_avg	number	U.S. city average CPI-U, September-August average	index 1982-84=100	derived
wa_gf_expenditures	number	Statewide total general fund expenditures, all districts	US dollars	observed
wa_enrollment_ospi_per_pupil_basis	number	Statewide enrollment OSPI uses for per-pupil figures	students (FTE)	observed
wa_gf_exp_per_student	number	Statewide general fund expenditures per student	US dollars	derived
wa_gf_exp_per_student_2024_25_dollars_seattle_cpi	number	Statewide spending per student in 2024-25 dollars (Seattle CPI-U)	2024-25 US dollars	derived

Supporting files

Source snapshots, manifests, quality reports, documentation, and other materials used to produce or review this release.

• seattle-schools-budget-dataset-parts.json Documentation · application/json · 40.7 KB (41,667 bytes)

  Machine-readable sources, table definitions, events, saved analyses and the attributed statement for this dataset version.

Sources

1. Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) Annual school district financial statements (F-196): general fund expenditures by program and object, revenues by source, and the enrollment OSPI uses for per-pupil figures. 10-year workbook (https://ospi.k12.wa.us/sites/default/files/2025-12/10_year_f-196_data_2024-25.xlsx) for 2014-15 to 2024-25; 2013-14 and detail rows from the SAFS F-196 data files (https://ospi.k12.wa.us/safs-data-files).

   Retrieved November 3, 2026. Washington State public record. Public government data; derived tables redistributed with attribution.

   Reliability: Government. OSPI compiles the year-end financial statements every Washington school district must file (form F-196). Figures are as reported by the district; OSPI publishes them without audit adjustment.

2. OSPI Financial Reporting Summary, Section One Statewide general fund expenditures and per-pupil spending by year, 2014-15 to 2024-25 (2013-14 from the 2022-23 edition: https://ospi.k12.wa.us/sites/default/files/2023-12/2022-23_section_one_statewideaveragefinancialtablesandcharts.pdf).

   Retrieved November 3, 2026. Washington State public record. Public government document.

   Reliability: Government. OSPI summary of all districts' F-196 reports; used here for the statewide comparison. Its per-pupil enrollment counts K-12 FTE plus some special-education and institutional students.

3. OSPI Report Card enrollment (data.wa.gov) October headcount by grade for Seattle School District No. 1, 2014-15 to 2024-25; 2025-26 from https://data.wa.gov/d/wvqy-yp3m.

   Retrieved November 3, 2026. Washington State open data. Public open data.

   Reliability: Government. Headcount of students enrolled on the October count date, as districts report it to OSPI. Earliest year in this series is 2014-15.

4. Seattle Public Schools 2026-27 Budget Book 2024-25 actual and 2025-26 and 2026-27 budgeted general fund totals; K-12 AAFTE 2022-23 to 2026-27; fund balance outlook.

   Retrieved November 3, 2026. Public record. Public document; figures quoted with attribution.

   Reliability: Party to the dispute. The district's own adopted budget. SPS argues the state underfunds it, but these figures are its audited actuals and adopted budgets, which match OSPI's records.

5. Seattle Public Schools Adopted Budget 2015-2016 (copy) 2013-14 actual general fund summary (F-195 format) and 2013-14 actual K-12 AAFTE.

   Retrieved November 3, 2026. Public record. Public document; figures quoted with attribution.

   Reliability: Party to the dispute. SPS no longer posts this book on its site; this copy is kept by a parent-run data project. Its 2013-14 totals match OSPI's F-196 records to the dollar.

6. Seattle Public Schools Adopted Budget 2016-2017 (copy) K-12 AAFTE 2012-13 to 2014-15 with kindergarten shown at half-day and state-funded full-day kindergarten separately.

   Retrieved November 3, 2026. Public record. Public document; figures quoted with attribution.

   Reliability: Party to the dispute. District budget book copy kept by a parent-run data project; AAFTE figures are from OSPI report 1251.

7. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI-U Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue CPI-U (CUURS49DSA0, bimonthly) and U.S. city average CPI-U (CUUR0000SA0), averaged over each September-August school year.

   Retrieved November 3, 2026. Public domain (U.S. government work). Public domain.

   Reliability: Government. Official consumer price index. The Seattle index is published for even months only.

8. U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis via FRED Implicit price deflator for state and local government consumption and investment (quarterly), averaged Q3 to Q2 for each school year; used as a sensitivity check.

   Retrieved November 3, 2026. Public domain (U.S. government work). Public domain.

   Reliability: Government. National index of the prices state and local governments pay, dominated by employee compensation; not specific to Washington or schools.

9. @PNWConservative on X The post rated in the companion fact check.

   Retrieved November 3, 2026. Quoted for commentary. Quotation only.

   Reliability: Advocacy group. Has a stake in this finding. Anonymous political account; the post argues for Initiative 645.

Limitations and reproducibility

Reproducible from public sources: Every figure comes from public OSPI files, SPS budget books, BLS and BEA. Sum the F-196 general fund rows for district 17001 by year (or read the OSPI 10-year workbook), divide by OSPI's per-pupil enrollment, and deflate with the September-August average of the Seattle CPI-U.

• General fund only; capital and debt-service funds are excluded.
• 2013-14 kindergarten FTE was counted mostly at half-day, which understates 2013-14 enrollment relative to later years.
• Price indexes measure consumer or government prices broadly, not school costs specifically.
• Budget-year figures (2025-26, 2026-27) can change at year end.