Appendix B: Common Core of Data Glossary

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administration expenditures

Expenditures for school and school district administration (the school principal's office, the superintendent and board of education and their immediate staff, and other local education agency (LEA) staff and services except those listed in other categories). Expenditures include salaries and benefits for LEA planners/researchers, personnel, fiscal services, warehousing, and other activities of LEAs, along with supplies and purchased services of these activities.

capital outlay

Direct expenditure for construction of buildings, roads, and other improvements and for purchases of equipment, land, and existing structures. Includes amounts for additions, replacements, and major alterations to fixed works and structures. However, expenditure for repairs to fixed works and structures is classified as current expenditures for operations.

charter school

A school that provides free public elementary and/or secondary education to eligible students under a specific charter granted by the state legislature or other appropriate authority and that is designated by such authority to be a charter school. Charter schools can be administered by regular school districts, state education agencies (SEAs), or chartering organizations.

construction

Production of fixed works and structures and additions, replacements, and major alterations thereto, including planning and design of specific projects, site improvements, and provision of equipment and facilities that are integral parts of a structure. Includes both construction undertaken on a contractual basis by private contractors or through a government's own staff (i.e., force account).

current expenditures

Expenditures for the day-to-day operation of schools and school districts, including expenditures for staff salaries and benefits, supplies, and purchased services. Expenditures associated with repaying debts and capital outlays (e.g., purchases of land, school construction and repair, and equipment) are excluded from current expenditures. Programs outside the scope of public preschool to grade 12 education, such as community services and adult education, are not included in current expenditures.

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debt

Long-term credit obligations of the school system or its parent government and all interest-bearing short-term (repayable within 1 year) credit obligations. Excludes non-interest-bearing short-term obligations, interfund obligations, amounts owed in a trust agency capacity, advances and contingent loans from other governments, and obligations to individuals from school system employee-retirement funds.

education service agency

An LEA whose only function is to collect and allocate funds or to provide certain administrative services for a group of LEAs.

elementary/secondary education

Programs providing instruction, or assisting in providing instruction, for students in prekindergarten, kindergarten, grades 1 through 12, and ungraded programs.

expenditures

All amounts of money paid out by a school system, net of recoveries and other correcting transactions, other than for retirement of debt, purchase of securities, extension of loans, and agency transactions. Expenditures include only external transactions of a school system and exclude noncash transactions such as the provision of perquisites or other in-kind payments.

federal range ratio

A measure of disparity in revenues or expenditures per pupil between the bottom 5 percent and top 5 percent of districts. See Appendix A: Methodology and Technical Notes for more information.

federal revenues

Revenues from the federal government, including direct grants-in-aid to schools or agencies, funds distributed through a state or intermediate agency, and revenues in lieu of taxes to compensate a school district for nontaxable federal institutions within the district's boundaries.

fiscal year

The 12-month period to which the annual operating budget applies. At the end of the fiscal year, the agency determines its financial condition and the results of its operations.

function

A category of expenditure defining the activity supported by the service or commodity bought.

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independent charter school district

A school district that includes only charter schools.

instruction and instruction-related expenditures

Include expenditures for instruction and instructional staff support services. These are expenditures that are directly related to providing instruction and for activities that assist with classroom instruction. These include salaries and benefits for teachers, teaching assistants, librarians and library aides, in-service teacher trainers, curriculum development, student assessment, technology (for students but outside the classroom), and supplies and purchased services related to these activities.

instruction expenditures

Expenditures for activities related to the interaction between teachers and students. Include salaries and benefits for teachers and teacher aides, textbooks, supplies and purchased services.

instructional staff support services

Activities that include instructional staff training, educational media (library and audiovisual), and other instructional staff support services.

interest on debt expenditures

Interest expenditures on long-term debt.

local education agency (LEA)

An agency at the local level whose primary responsibility is to operate public schools or to contract for public school services. An LEA is also called a school district.

local revenues

Revenues from such sources as local property and nonproperty taxes, investments, and student activities such as textbook sales, transportation and tuition fees, and food service revenues. These include revenues from intermediate sources.

long-term debt

Debt payable more than 1 year after the date of issue.

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magnet school

Regardless of the source of funding, a magnet school or program is a special school or program designed to attract students of different racial/ethnic backgrounds for the purpose of reducing, preventing, or eliminating racial isolation and/or to provide an academic or social focus on a particular theme.

noncharter school district

A school district or LEA for which all schools associated with the district are not charter schools.

operations expenditures

Expenditures for the operation and maintenance of schools and school district facilities, and expenditures related to student transportation, food services, and enterprise operations.

other elementary/secondary education current expenditures

Current expenditures for food services and enterprise operations.

other program expenditures

Expenditures for community services, adult education, community colleges, private schools, and other programs that are not part of public elementary and secondary education.

payments to other school districts and private schools

Payments made to private schools and other school districts, including payments for tuition, transportation, and computer and purchasing services.

payments to state and local governments

Payments to state and local governments (except LEAs), including debt service payments to agencies that incur debt instead of the LEA.

public school

An institution that provides education services and has one or more grade groups (prekindergarten through grade 12) or is ungraded; has one or more teachers to give instruction; is located in one or more buildings or sites; has an assigned administrator; receives public funds as primary support; and is operated by an education agency.

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regular school district

A public elementary and/or secondary school district that provides instruction and other education services and that does not focus primarily on special education or vocational education. Independent charter school districts, and education service agencies and other agencies that do not operate schools are also excluded from this category.

revenues

Additions to assets that do not incur an obligation that must be met at some future date, do not represent exchanges of fixed assets, and are available for expenditure by the LEAs in the state. Revenues include funds from local, intermediate, state, and federal sources.

special education school

A public elementary/secondary school that (1) focuses primarily on special education, including instruction for any of the following: hard of hearing, deaf, speech impaired, health impaired, orthopedically impaired, mentally retarded, seriously emotionally disturbed, multi-handicapped, visually handicapped, and deaf and blind; and (2) adapts curriculum, materials, or instruction for students served.

state revenues

Revenues received by LEAs from the state, including unrestricted grants-in-aid, restricted grants-in-aid, revenue in lieu of taxes, and payments for, or on behalf of, LEAs.

student membership

Annual headcount of students enrolled in school on October 1 or the school day closest to that date. In any given year, some small schools will not have any students.

student support services

Includes attendance and social work, guidance, health, psychological services, speech pathology, audiology, and other student support services.

support services

An expenditure function divided into seven subfunctions: student support services, instructional staff support, general administration, school administration, operations and maintenance, student transportation, and other support services.

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Title I program

This federal program provides financial assistance through SEAs to LEAs and schools with high numbers or high percentages of poor children to help ensure that all children meet challenging state academic standards. Funds are currently allocated based primarily on census poverty estimates and the state per pupil expenditure from NPEFS.

total expenditures

The sum of current expenditure, non-elementary/secondary expenditure, capital outlay, and interest payments on debts.

total revenues

The sum of revenue contributions emerging from local, state, and federal sources. Revenue received from bond sales or the sale of property or equipment is not included.

ungraded

A class that is not organized on the basis of grade grouping and has no standard grade designation. This includes regular classes that have no grade designations and special classes for exceptional students that have no grade designations. Such a class is likely to contain students of different ages who, frequently, are identified according to level of performance in one or more areas of instruction rather than according to grade level or age level.

unified school district

A regular school district or independent charter school district that provides both elementary and secondary education services and instruction.

vocational education school

A public elementary/secondary school that focuses primarily on vocational, technical, or career education and provides education and training in one or more semiskilled or technical occupations.

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