Tracking the money in Missouri education

In the Show Me State parents have a number of resources to see exactly how their tax dollars are being spent on education.

Two recent CEAM Watchdog projects provide parents portals to key data like how much money is being spent per-pupil in every district in the state and how much superintendents across the state actually make.

The most recent CEAM project provides a series of interactive maps (see below) which allow parents to see how much state, federal and local funding is spent on students in every district in the state. That funding is determined by a complicated funding formula. To learn more about how the funding works please click here.

Parents can also easily see exactly how much every teacher and administrator in their child’s school is paid, thanks to a new interactive website provided by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Maryville University. To access the database, please click here.

For a more in-depth look at how much school superintendents across the state made in 2015, CEAM is again a great transparency resource. Our Superintendent Contract Finder is a quick way to find not only base salaries for superintendents but also how much they are paid in pensions and other additional benefits.

Funding is, of course, only one element of what makes a great school, but CEAM is dedicated to helping provide parents with as much knowledge about their schools as we can. If you would like to know more about how your school compares to other options in your area, please contact CEAM Community Outreach Manager Cici Tompkins at 314.561.8646 or cici@ceamteam.org.

Interactive maps

This interactive map is sorted by per pupil expenditure amounts. The darker the color, the more money is being spent per pupil.

This interactive map is sorted by the amount of state dollars a school district receives. The darker the color, the more state dollars make up a district’s budget.