Survey: Top Education and Budget Challenges for Schools

A recent survey of more than 2,500 educators, school leaders, and district administrators across the country identified the top challenges schools are facing this year. The 2025 National Educator Survey, conducted by PowerSchool, found that teacher shortages and mounting financial uncertainty are persistent pain points across K-12 education, with 50% of district administrators calling strategic budgeting a top challenge.

Underlying the budget difficulties were three top hurdles:

  • Political/economic uncertainty (cited by 48% of district leaders);
  • Balancing department needs (47%); and
  • Funding emerging needs like tech and mental health (35%).

Staffing pressures were also a key issue, with 48% of district administrators reporting that addressing teacher vacancies is a top challenge, and 50% of school leaders saying that staff morale and motivation are keeping them up at night. In addition, 37% of classroom educators and 38% of school leaders said staff and student mental health is a major concern.

Across roles, respondents reported the following top education challenges:

  • Promoting student attendance (cited by 50% of respondents);
  • Implementing student behavioral interventions (42%);
  • Addressing fundamental student learning needs (40%);
  • Addressing educator and staff vacancies (40%); and
  • Strategic budgeting and maximizing resources (37%).

The survey also asked what tech trend will have the most significant impact on student learning in the next two to four years, with 54% of educators identifying AI tools to support and personalize learning as the top trend. Still, actual AI usage remains limited, the survey found: Only 13 % of classroom educators and 11% of school administrators said they currently use AI to support learning, and just 12% of overall respondents agreed that their district has a clear vision for AI in the classroom. In addition, only 12% of educators strongly agreed that their district provides sufficient AI-related professional development.

"Despite strong belief in AI's promise, the educator sector lacks the infrastructure, training, and unified vision needed to translate that belief into meaningful classroom impact," PowerSchool noted in a report overview.

An infographic with key findings is available here on the PowerSchool site.

About the Author

Rhea Kelly is editor in chief for Campus Technology, THE Journal, and Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

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