Chapter 2: Percentage of Total Revenues

In FY 90, total revenues for public elementary and secondary education in the United States totaled $292.7 billion in inflation-adjusted figures (table 1.a). These revenues were evenly divided between state and local sources, with approximately 47 percent of revenues coming from both state and local and intermediate sources (table 3.e and table 4.e). The remaining 6 percent came from federal sources (table 2.e). By FY 02, total revenues had increased to $419.8 billion in adjusted figures and the division of these funds had shifted. The percentage of state revenues increased from 47 percent to 49 percent of total revenues (table 3.e), and local and intermediate revenues decreased from 47 percent to 43 percent of total revenues (table 4.e). Federal revenues experienced an increase from 6 percent to 8 percent of total revenues (table 2.e).

As the numbers above indicate, an increase in federal and state revenues was observed between FY 90 and FY 02, while local and intermediate revenues decreased between these years (figure 2-11).

It should be noted that major shifts in the funding of public education occurred in three states after court decisions regarding school finance (table 3.e.). In FY 94, Michigan shifted public education funding from predominately local sources to state sources after education funding reform. In FY 99, state revenues more than doubled while local and intermediate revenues were halved in Vermont after the court decision Brigham v. State, 692 A 2d 384 VT 1997. A distribution shift also occurred in New Hampshire in FY 2000 after the court decision of Claremont v. Governor, 703 A 2d 1353 NH 1997.

• View Figure 2-11.