This is the first of two reports exploring the relationship between coal activity and funding for elementary and secondary education in the Appalachian Region. In this first report, patterns in funding for elementary and secondary education are explored using annual data from 1995 to 2016. Counties that had some level of coal employment over this time period (coal counties) are compared to counties that had no coal employment over the same time (non-coal counties). This descriptive analysis finds that educational attainment rates in the Appalachian Region lag behind national rates, often by a significant margin. There is considerable heterogeneity in educational attainment across and within Appalachia, with coal communities within states sometimes outperforming non-coal communities and vice versa. However the reports finds that coal counties generally have similar levels of spending and local revenues per student as the nation as a whole. Although, there is significant variation across counties and states. The second report aims to isolate the impacts of coal activity, including employment and production, on local revenues for elementary and secondary education. [The report was prepared by the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.]