Per-Pupil Expenditure (FESR)

Annual per-pupil spending — total, federal, and state/local — for Georgia school districts (2014-2024) and schools (2017-2024), from the FESR methodology.

Source: Governor's Office of Student Achievement (GOSA)
Year coverage: 2014–2024
Updated: annual
Version: 1.0.0
Schema hash: ea9016eba4ca

Detail levels available

DistrictSchool · default

Overview

Annual per-pupil expenditure panel for Georgia public school districts and schools under the GOSA Financial Efficiency Star Rating (FESR) methodology: total, federal, and state/local expenditures, full-time-equivalent K-12 enrollment, and the resulting per-pupil expenditure (PPE) for every fiscal year the FESR downloads cover — district rows FY2014-FY2024 (the 180 traditional systems), school rows FY2017-FY2024 (all schools, including charter authorizers). District rows additionally carry the federal vs state/local split of total expenditures; school rows additionally carry the pre-allocation included/excluded expenditure split and the school's share of district enrollment. This is the FESR included-cost per-pupil series, whereas the k12_expenditures topic is the full function-level expenditure ledger — their totals intentionally differ (FESR excludes capital, debt, and other non-included costs). It is also the reliable school-level PPE series (the k12_expenditures school per-pupil column is degenerate in 2023-24). The FESR star ratings built from this panel live in the sibling financial_efficiency_star_rating topic.

Row grain: One row per year, district_code, school_code.

Key metric

per_pupil_expenditure — Per-Pupil Expenditure (currency)

The single headline value most answers want.

JSON schema →Data contract (YAML) →

Variables

Every column in the fact table. The code is the exact field name the API returns.

Column	Type	Unit	Range	Null?	Description
`year`Year	integer	—	—	no	Fiscal year the row's expenditure and enrollment inputs refer to (e.g. FY2024 = 2023-24 school year). Differs from the bronze filename year for back-window rows: each rolling FESR report covers up to 3 fiscal years, but gold keys every row by the actual fiscal year. Full description▾ Fiscal year the row's expenditure and enrollment inputs refer to (e.g. FY2024 = 2023-24 school year). Differs from the bronze filename year for back-window rows: each rolling FESR report covers up to 3 fiscal years, but gold keys every row by the actual fiscal year.
`district_code`District Code	string	—	—	no	GOSA district/system code (FK to districts dimension), zero-padded to 3 digits (7-digit codes are charter authorizers, school rows only). District-detail rows cover the 180 traditional school systems (codes 601-793); school-detail rows additionally include charter authorizer codes. Populated on every row. Full description▾ GOSA district/system code (FK to districts dimension), zero-padded to 3 digits (7-digit codes are charter authorizers, school rows only). District-detail rows cover the 180 traditional school systems (codes 601-793); school-detail rows additionally include charter authorizer codes. Populated on every row. Joins districts; adds its label columns.
`school_code`School Code	string	—	—	yes	GOSA school code, zero-padded to 4 characters (composite FK to schools dimension with district_code; not globally unique on its own). Populated on school rows only — district aggregate rows carry NULL. Full description▾ GOSA school code, zero-padded to 4 characters (composite FK to schools dimension with district_code; not globally unique on its own). Populated on school rows only — district aggregate rows carry NULL. Joins schools; adds its label columns.
`total_expenditures`Total Expenditures	number	currency	—	yes	Total expenditures for the fiscal year (nominal dollars, not inflation-adjusted). For DISTRICT rows this is the district's total included expenditures (= federal_expenditures + state_local_expenditures within $1, enforced by a quality check). For SCHOOL rows this is the per-school total — included expenditures plus the school's allocated share of district central costs (= total_federal_expenditures + total_state_local_expenditures within $10; from FY22 also folds in Allocated CCA and Alternative Program costs, so FY22+ school totals are not strictly comparable to FY17-FY21). per_pupil_expenditure = total_expenditures / fte_enrollment at both levels. Full description▾ Total expenditures for the fiscal year (nominal dollars, not inflation-adjusted). For DISTRICT rows this is the district's total included expenditures (= federal_expenditures + state_local_expenditures within $1, enforced by a quality check). For SCHOOL rows this is the per-school total — included expenditures plus the school's allocated share of district central costs (= total_federal_expenditures + total_state_local_expenditures within $10; from FY22 also folds in Allocated CCA and Alternative Program costs, so FY22+ school totals are not strictly comparable to FY17-FY21). per_pupil_expenditure = total_expenditures / fte_enrollment at both levels.
`fte_enrollment`FTE Enrollment	integer	count	—	yes	Full-time-equivalent K-12 enrollment, the denominator of per_pupil_expenditure (per_pupil_expenditure = total_expenditures / fte_enrollment within rounding at both detail levels, enforced by a quality check). Full description▾ Full-time-equivalent K-12 enrollment, the denominator of per_pupil_expenditure (per_pupil_expenditure = total_expenditures / fte_enrollment within rounding at both detail levels, enforced by a quality check).
`per_pupil_expenditure`Per-Pupil Expenditure	number	currency	—	yes	Total dollars spent per student for the fiscal year (nominal, not inflation-adjusted). Full description▾ Per-pupil expenditure for the fiscal year (nominal dollars) = total_expenditures / fte_enrollment, as published (rounded to cents by the source). A few Atlanta (district 660) school rows in FY21/FY22 are negative — faithful GOSA restatements preserved per §4b, not errors.
`federal_per_pupil_expenditure`Federal per Pupil Expenditure	number	currency	—	yes	Federal portion of per_pupil_expenditure (nominal dollars). federal_per_pupil_expenditure + state_local_per_pupil_expenditure = per_pupil_expenditure within rounding (enforced by a quality check). NULL for district FY2014. Full description▾ Federal portion of per_pupil_expenditure (nominal dollars). federal_per_pupil_expenditure + state_local_per_pupil_expenditure = per_pupil_expenditure within rounding (enforced by a quality check). NULL for district FY2014.
`state_local_per_pupil_expenditure`State Local per Pupil Expenditure	number	currency	—	yes	State + local portion of per_pupil_expenditure (nominal dollars). NULL for district FY2014. Full description▾ State + local portion of per_pupil_expenditure (nominal dollars). NULL for district FY2014.
`federal_expenditures`Federal Expenditures	number	currency	—	yes	Federal portion of the district's total_expenditures (nominal dollars). District-detail rows only. The school-level analogue of this quantity is total_federal_expenditures (both split the shared total_expenditures column); they are kept as separate columns because the school download names them differently and additionally publishes the pre-allocation included_* split, which districts do not. Full description▾ Federal portion of the district's total_expenditures (nominal dollars). District-detail rows only. The school-level analogue of this quantity is total_federal_expenditures (both split the shared total_expenditures column); they are kept as separate columns because the school download names them differently and additionally publishes the pre-allocation included_* split, which districts do not.
`state_local_expenditures`State Local Expenditures	number	currency	—	yes	State + local portion of the district's total_expenditures (nominal dollars). District-detail rows only; the school-level analogue is total_state_local_expenditures. Full description▾ State + local portion of the district's total_expenditures (nominal dollars). District-detail rows only; the school-level analogue is total_state_local_expenditures.
`included_expenditures`Included Expenditures	number	currency	—	yes	Total included expenditures for the school (nominal dollars), BEFORE allocation of district central costs — the school's total_expenditures equals included_expenditures plus its allocated central-cost share. School-detail rows only. Placeholder $0 values on unreported/non-compliant FY17-FY18 rows are NULLed per §4b (see limitations). Full description▾ Total included expenditures for the school (nominal dollars), BEFORE allocation of district central costs — the school's total_expenditures equals included_expenditures plus its allocated central-cost share. School-detail rows only. Placeholder $0 values on unreported/non-compliant FY17-FY18 rows are NULLed per §4b (see limitations).
`included_federal_expenditures`Included Federal Expenditures	number	currency	—	yes	Federal portion of the school's included_expenditures (nominal dollars). included_federal_expenditures + included_state_local_expenditures = included_expenditures (exact in the canonical bronze blocks; enforced by a quality check). School-detail rows only. FY17-FY18 placeholder $0 values NULLed per §4b. Full description▾ Federal portion of the school's included_expenditures (nominal dollars). included_federal_expenditures + included_state_local_expenditures = included_expenditures (exact in the canonical bronze blocks; enforced by a quality check). School-detail rows only. FY17-FY18 placeholder $0 values NULLed per §4b.
`included_state_local_expenditures`Included State Local Expenditures	number	currency	—	yes	State + local portion of the school's included_expenditures (nominal dollars). School-detail rows only. FY17-FY18 placeholder $0 values NULLed per §4b. Full description▾ State + local portion of the school's included_expenditures (nominal dollars). School-detail rows only. FY17-FY18 placeholder $0 values NULLed per §4b.
`excluded_expenditures`Excluded Expenditures	number	currency	—	yes	Expenditures excluded from the PPE computation (nominal dollars) per the FESR methodology. NOT a component of total_expenditures (totals = included + allocated central costs). School-detail rows only. A few rows per year carry negative values — faithful GOSA restatements preserved per §4b. FY17-FY18 placeholder $0 values NULLed per §4b. Full description▾ Expenditures excluded from the PPE computation (nominal dollars) per the FESR methodology. NOT a component of total_expenditures (totals = included + allocated central costs). School-detail rows only. A few rows per year carry negative values — faithful GOSA restatements preserved per §4b. FY17-FY18 placeholder $0 values NULLed per §4b.
`total_federal_expenditures`Total Federal Expenditures	number	currency	—	yes	Federal portion of the school's total_expenditures (post-allocation; nominal dollars). The school-level analogue of the district's federal_expenditures (both split the shared total_expenditures). School-detail rows only. FY17-FY18 placeholder $0 values NULLed per §4b. Full description▾ Federal portion of the school's total_expenditures (post-allocation; nominal dollars). The school-level analogue of the district's federal_expenditures (both split the shared total_expenditures). School-detail rows only. FY17-FY18 placeholder $0 values NULLed per §4b.
`total_state_local_expenditures`Total State Local Expenditures	number	currency	—	yes	State + local portion of the school's total_expenditures (post-allocation; nominal dollars). School-detail rows only; the district analogue is state_local_expenditures. FY17-FY18 placeholder $0 values NULLed per §4b. Full description▾ State + local portion of the school's total_expenditures (post-allocation; nominal dollars). School-detail rows only; the district analogue is state_local_expenditures. FY17-FY18 placeholder $0 values NULLed per §4b.
`pct_of_district_enrollment`Percent of District Enrollment	number	proportion	—	yes	The school's share of its district's total enrollment, 0-1 decimal (0.2912 = 29.12%), used by the FESR methodology to allocate district central costs. School-detail rows only. Caveat: within-district sums are not a strict partition — they exceed 1.0 in 552 district-years (55 of them by more than 0.005, up to 1.82), faithful to bronze. Full description▾ The school's share of its district's total enrollment, 0-1 decimal (0.2912 = 29.12%), used by the FESR methodology to allocate district central costs. School-detail rows only. Caveat: within-district sums are not a strict partition — they exceed 1.0 in 552 district-years (55 of them by more than 0.005, up to 1.82), faithful to bronze.

Filters

Query parameters the fact endpoint accepts. Comma-separated values are OR within a parameter; multiple parameters AND together.

Parameter	Kind	Allowed values	Notes
`year`	year_exact	any value	—
`year_min`	year_range	any value	—
`year_max`	year_range	any value	—
`detail`	detail	`districtsschools`	enum-enforced, default: schools
`district_code`	foreign_key	any value	multi-value
`school_code`	foreign_key	any value	multi-value
`district_type`	dimension_attribute	7 allowed values▾ `commission_charter` `resa` `standard` `state_agency` `state_charter` `state_school` `state_special`	multi-value, enum-enforced
`school_level`	dimension_attribute	`elementarymiddlehighk12other`	multi-value, enum-enforced
`locale`	dimension_attribute	`citysuburbtownrural`	multi-value, enum-enforced

Example requests

Run these against the base URL — they return live data.

All rows (first page), schools level

curl "https://georgiacivicdata.org/api/v1/education/per_pupil_expenditure"

schools data for 2024

curl "https://georgiacivicdata.org/api/v1/education/per_pupil_expenditure?year=2024"

One district (code 657), 2024

curl "https://georgiacivicdata.org/api/v1/education/per_pupil_expenditure?district_code=657&year=2024&detail=districts"

Download 2024 as CSV

curl "https://georgiacivicdata.org/api/v1/education/per_pupil_expenditure?year=2024&format=csv"

Notes & limitations

NULL handling

Zero is a real, reported value.

Limitations

Two detail levels (district, school) in one fact table, split by parquet filename; school_code is NULL on district rows. Detail level is read from the geography-key NULL pattern. The district level covers FY2014-FY2024 (180 traditional systems, codes 601-793, no charters/RESAs/state agencies); the school level covers FY2017-FY2024 (all schools, including charter authorizers). School-level and district-level rows come from two independent GOSA downloads whose K-12 bases need not reconcile, so school rows are NOT guaranteed to sum to their district row. Level-specific columns are NULL on the other level: federal_expenditures / state_local_expenditures are district-only; included_* / excluded_expenditures / total_federal_expenditures / total_state_local_expenditures / pct_of_district_enrollment are school-only. The district federal_expenditures and the school total_federal_expenditures are the same federal share of total_expenditures but are kept as separate columns (different source naming; schools also publish the distinct pre-allocation included_* split). District federal/state-local breakdowns are NULL for FY2014 (the only source covering FY14 published totals only). FY2022 methodology change: from FY22 school total_expenditures (and per_pupil_expenditure) additionally include Allocated CCA and Alternative Program costs, so FY22+ school totals are not strictly comparable to FY17-FY21. This is the FESR included-cost per-pupil series — totals intentionally differ from the k12_expenditures function-level expenditure ledger. Placeholder $0 school expenditure amounts on unreported/non-compliant FY17-FY18 rows are NULLed per §4b (see _transform_manifest.json masked_values). A small number of district 660 (Atlanta) school rows carry negative expenditure / per-pupil values — faithful GOSA restatements preserved as-is. Currency is nominal dollars (not inflation-adjusted). No cell-level small-cell suppression exists in this source; NULLs are structural or §4b masks, never suppression.