Table 161.

Summary of expenditures for public elementary and secondary education, by purpose: Selected years, 1919–20 through 2003–04

Purpose of expenditures	1919–20	1929–30	1939–40	1949–50	1959–60	1969–70	1979–80	1989–90		1999–2000		2002–031		2003–04
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		10		11		12
	Amounts in thousands of dollars
Total expenditures	$1,036,151	$2,316,790	$2,344,049	$5,837,643	$15,613,255	$40,683,429	$95,961,561	$212,769,564		$381,838,155		$454,906,912		$473,862,737
Current expenditures for public elementary and secondary education	861,120	1,843,552	1,941,799	4,687,274	12,329,389	34,217,773	86,984,142	188,229,359		323,888,508		387,593,617		403,376,186
Administration	36,752	78,680	91,571	220,050	528,408	1,606,646	4,263,757	16,346,991	2	25,079,298	2	29,751,958	2	30,864,878	2
Instruction	632,556	1,317,727	1,403,285	3,112,340	8,350,738	23,270,158	53,257,937	113,550,405	2	199,968,138	2	237,731,734	2	247,443,145	2
Plant operation	115,707	216,072	194,365	427,587	1,085,036	2,537,257	9,744,785	20,261,415	2	31,190,295	2	36,830,517	2	38,720,266	2
Plant maintenance	30,432	78,810	73,321	214,164	422,586	974,941	(3)	(3)		(3)		(3)		(3)
Fixed charges	9,286	50,270	50,116	261,469	909,323	3,266,920	11,793,934	—		—		—		—
Other school services4	36,387	101,993	129,141	451,663	1,033,297	2,561,856	7,923,729	38,070,548	2	67,650,776	2	83,279,408	2	86,347,897	2
Other current expenditures	3,277	9,825	13,367	35,614	132,566	635,803	597,585	2,982,543		5,457,015		6,873,762		6,929,952
Summer schools	(5)	(5)	(5)	(5)	13,263	106,481	24,753	—		—		—		—
Adult education5	3,277	9,825	13,367	35,614	26,858	128,778	—	—		—		—		—
Community colleges	(5)	(5)	(5)	(5)	34,492	138,813	—	—		—		—		—
Community services	(4)	(4)	(4)	(4)	57,953	261,731	572,832	—		—		—		—
Capital outlay6	153,543	370,878	257,974	1,014,176	2,661,786	4,659,072	6,506,167	17,781,342		43,357,186		48,940,374		50,476,066
Interest on school debt	18,212	92,536	130,909	100,578	489,514	1,170,782	1,873,666	3,776,321		9,135,445		11,499,160		13,080,534
	Percentage distribution
Total expenditures	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0		100.0		100.0		100.0
Current expenditures for public elementary and secondary education	83.1	79.6	82.8	80.3	79.0	84.1	90.6	88.5		84.8		85.2		85.1
Administration	3.5	3.4	3.9	3.8	3.4	3.9	4.4	7.7	2	6.6	2	6.5	2	6.5	2
Instruction	61.0	56.9	59.9	53.3	53.5	57.2	55.5	53.4	2	52.4	2	52.3	2	52.2	2
Plant operation	11.2	9.3	8.3	7.3	6.9	6.2	10.2	9.5	2	8.2	2	8.1	2	8.2	2
Plant maintenance	2.9	3.4	3.1	3.7	2.7	2.4	(3)	(3)		(3)		(3)		(3)
Fixed charges	0.9	2.2	2.1	4.5	5.8	8.0	12.3	—		—		—		—
Other school services4	3.5	4.4	5.5	7.7	6.6	6.3	8.3	17.9		17.7		18.3		18.2
Other current expenditures	0.3	0.4	0.6	0.6	0.8	1.6	0.6	1.4		1.4		1.5		1.5
Summer schools	(5)	(5)	(5)	(5)	0.1	0.3	#	—		—		—		—
Adult education5	0.3	0.4	0.6	0.6	0.2	0.3	—	—		—		—		—
Community colleges	(5)	(5)	(5)	(5)	0.2	0.3	—	—		—		—		—
Community services	(4)	(4)	(4)	(4)	0.4	0.6	0.6	—		—		—		—
Capital outlay6	14.8	16.0	11.0	17.4	17.0	11.5	6.8	8.4		11.4		10.8		10.7
Interest on school debt	1.8	4.0	5.6	1.7	3.1	2.9	2.0	1.8		2.4		2.5		2.8

—Not available. # Rounds to zero. 1 Data have been revised from previously published figures. 2 Data not comparable to figures prior to 1989–90. 3 Plant operation also includes plant maintenance. 4 Prior to 1959–60, items included under "other school services" were listed under "auxiliary services," a more comprehensive classification that also included community services. 5 Prior to 1959–60, data shown for adult education represent combined expenditures for adult education, summer schools, and community colleges. 6 Prior to 1969–70, excludes capital outlay by state and local school housing authorities. NOTE: Beginning in 1959–60, includes Alaska and Hawaii. Beginning in 1989–90, state administration expenditures were excluded from both "total" and "current" expenditures. Beginning in 1989–90, extensive changes were made in the data collection procedures. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Biennial Survey of Education in the United States, 1919–20 through 1949–50; Statistics of State School Systems, 1959–60 and 1969–70; Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elemen­tary and Secondary Education, 1979–80; and Common Core of Data (CCD), "National Public Education Financial Survey," 1989–90 through 2003–04. (This table was prepared August 2006.)