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Lee HoffmanApproximately $462 billion was collected for public elementary and secondary education in the 50 states and the District of Columbia in fiscal year (FY) 2004 (table 6). Total revenues ranged from a high of almost $57.6 billion in California, which serves about 13 percent of the nation's students, to a low of almost $878 million in North Dakota, which serves roughly 0.2 percent of the nation's students (student membership percentages derived from table 1). The greatest percentages of education revenues came from state and local governments, which provided 47.1 percent and 43.9 percent, respectively, of total revenues. The federal government's contribution was 9.1 percent of all revenues. The 50 states and the District of Columbia collected an average of $9,518 from all sources for every student in membership in FY 04.
Total Expenditures
School districts had total expenditures of approximately $473.9 billion in FY 04, including about $403.4 billion in current expenditures for public elementary and secondary education (table 7).8 Of the remaining expenditures, $44.6 billion was spent on facilities acquisition and construction, $5.8 billion on replacement equipment, $13.1 billion on interest payments on debt, and $6.9 billion on other programs (programs such as community services and adult education, which are not part of public elementary and secondary education). In the 50 states and the District of Columbia, average expenditures per pupil were $9,762, ranging from a low of $6,263 in Utah to highs of $15,048 in New Jersey and $15,081 in the District of Columbia.
Current Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education
Because of the variation in the kinds of programs run by school districts and the large swings in school construction expenditures from year to year, researchers often use current, rather than total, expenditures when reporting and comparing school district expenditures. Current expenditures are expenditures for the day-to-day operations of schools and school districts. They include expenditures for salaries, benefits, supplies, and purchased services, but not for construction, equipment, debt financing, and programs outside of public elementary/secondary education.
Current expenditures for public education totaled approximately $403.4 billion in FY 04 (tables 7 and 8), with nearly $266.6 billion (66 percent) spent on instruction and instruction-related expenses (table 8). Of the remaining amount, $20.8 billion (5 percent) was spent on student support, $44.4 billion (11 percent) on administration, and $71.6 billion (18 percent) on operations.
In terms of the percentage of current expenditures spent on instruction and instruction-related expenses (table 8), the national average expenditure was 66 percent. Among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, Oklahoma's percentage was the smallest (60 percent), while New York's was the largest (71 percent).
The nearly $266.6 billion spent on instruction and instruction-related expenses in FY 04 (tables 8 and 9) included $184.5 billion for salaries for teachers and instruction-related staff and $53.2 billion for benefits for these staff (table 9). Average current expenditures per pupil for instruction and instruction-related expenses were $5,492 in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Looking at per pupil expenditures in FY 04, instruction and instruction-related expenditures ranged from $3,413 in Utah to $8,993 in New York (tables 8 and 9) and student support services expenditures ranged from $187 in Utah to $1,200 in New Jersey (table 8). Expenditures per pupil for operations services (e.g., food services) were $1,475 for the nation.
