How the Funding Works

The average total cost per student in Texas public schools is $11,567. Grants are calculated on maintenance and operations expenditures alone ($8,572 per student) and therefore equal to a maximum of 60% of M&O, which is $5,143 per student in interest rate reduction and refinancing. The state saves the other 40% of the M&O expense, which is $3,429 per student.

Additionally, the difference between operating expenditures and total expenditures is about $3,000 per student. That $3,000 remains in the Texas public school system, thereby increasing funding on a per student basis.

Pie chart showing taxpayer savings