Rhode Island’s large investment in elementary and secondary education has not yielded correspondingly high student outcomes, according to a new report from the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council.
The analysis found that the state spent $22,797 per pupil in 2023-24, the eighth-highest level in the nation and 25% above the national average. Adjusted for cost of living, Rhode Island ranked sixth highest. In fiscal 2023, the state committed $3.66 billion in state, local and federal aid to K-12 education, representing 28% of all state general revenue funds and 40% of all city and town spending.
“The success of our public K-12 education system is critical to the success of Rhode Island’s children, their families, and the state’s future,” said RIPEC President and CEO Michael DiBiase. “Rhode Islanders spend their tax dollars generously to support their schools, yet decisions as to how over $3 billion is spent is largely left to local school committees and school leaders, with relatively little oversight or accountability as to whether these investments are efficient or effective.”
Despite the high spending, the report found, Rhode Island ranked 27th among states on the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress — measuring average fourth- and eighth-grade math and reading — essentially in line with the national average, an outcome the council said is not explained by demographic differences.
The report found wide variation across districts, with six districts spending more than $30,000 per pupil in 2024-25 and three spending less than $20,000. Those differences often did not reflect student need: Pawtucket and Woonsocket, which serve among the highest shares of economically disadvantaged students, had among the lowest per pupil spending. The report cited Narragansett and Cumberland, which had similar demographics and proficiency rates, yet Narragansett’s per pupil spending of $34,352 was nearly double Cumberland’s $17,454.
DiBiase said research shows money can improve outcomes, but mainly when directed toward students in need and toward instructional quality. “Generous increases in state and federal funding in recent years has resulted in the expansion of non-instructional functions and inefficiencies, as local education agencies have been slow to right-size operations in response to enrollment declines,” he said.
The report found that Rhode Island devotes a smaller and declining share of spending to instruction than the U.S. overall, 62.1% compared with 63.7%, while ranking second among states in the share spent on student support services. Personnel costs accounted for 78% of K-12 spending. Between 2015-16 and 2024-25, staffing increased 7.2%, or 1,387 employees, while enrollment declined 4.3%, or 6,046 students, with growth concentrated in paraprofessionals and instructional aides and other support staff even as the number of teachers slipped slightly.
The report also found that smaller districts tend to have among the highest per pupil expenditures, and that seven of the 10 districts with the steepest enrollment declines rank among the 10 highest-spending districts.
Based on its findings, RIPEC recommended rebalancing state and local contributions and aligning resources with student need, right-sizing staffing and prioritizing instructional personnel, increasing the share of spending on instruction, pursuing district consolidation and shared services, reducing non-instructional spending and strengthening oversight and accountability.
“To improve Rhode Island’s return on this critical investment, state leaders should strengthen oversight, encourage efficiency, and adjust the state funding formula to better align resources with student need,” DiBiase said. “Local leaders should prioritize spending on teaching quality and instructional practice, while looking for ways of achieving economies of scale, particularly in small districts and communities experiencing significant enrollment declines.”
The full report is available on RIPEC’s website.
