Chapter 3: Facilities Acquisition and Construction Expenditures

Over the 13-year period, expenditures for facilities acquisition and construction experienced the most year-to-year change of any of the expenditure items analyzed in this report.

In FY 90, inflation-adjusted facilities acquisition and construction expenditures were $19.5 billion (table 7.a). This figure rose to $43 billion by FY 02, resulting in an increase of $23.5 billion, or 121 percent (table 7.b). Between FY 90 and FY 02, facilities acquisition and construction expenditures increased the most in Connecticut (3,074 percent); six states experienced declines, with Hawaii having the largest decrease (90 percent).²²

The annual percent change in these expenditures for the nation ranged from a decline of 1 percent to an increase of 15 percent from FY 90 through FY 02 (figure 3-6). At the state level, these annual changes ranged from a 90 percent decline to a 3,543 percent increase. Every state and the District of Columbia experienced at least one decrease in facilities acquisition and construction expenditures during the 13-year period (table 7.b).

• View Figure 3-6

Facilities acquisition and construction expenditures per pupil

As illustrated in figure 3-7, inflation-adjusted facilities acquisition and construction expenditures per pupil increased from $481 in FY 90 to $903 in FY 02 (table 7.c). In FY 90, they ranged from a low of $25 in Rhode Island to a high of $1,277 in Nevada. By FY 02, facilities acquisition and construction expenditures per pupil remained lowest in Rhode Island at $23, but were highest in Alaska at $1,467. In FY 02, these expenditures were $2,552 in the District of Columbia.²³

• View Figure 3-7

Between FY 90 and FY 02, facilities acquisition and construction expenditures per pupil in the United States increased $422, or 88 percent (table 7.d). The largest increases were in Pennsylvania and Connecticut (2,629 percent and 2,469 percent, respectively). Ten states experienced declines, with Hawaii experiencing the largest decrease (91 percent).²⁴ Among the states, the median percent change between FY 90 and FY 02 was 73 percent (derived from table 7.d).

From FY 90 through FY 02, the annual percent change in facilities acquisition and construction expenditures per pupil ranged from a 3 percent decline to a 14 percent increase. Every state and the District of Columbia experienced at least one decrease in facilities acquisition and construction expenditures per pupil during the 13-year period.

Percentage of total expenditures: Facilities acquisition and construction expenditures

Facilities acquisition and construction expenditures represented 7 percent of total expenditures in FY 90 (table 7.e). By FY 02, they represented 10 percent of total expenditures.

Facilities acquisition and construction expenditures were highest in Nevada at 18 percent of total expenditures in FY 90; they were lowest in the Northeastern states of Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island at nearly 0 percent. By FY 02, facilities acquisition and construction expenditures remained highest in Nevada at 18 percent and lowest in Rhode Island at nearly 0 percent.

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