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Digest of Education Statistics
2009 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 180. Total expenditures for public elementary and secondary education, by function and subfunction: Selected years, 1990-91 through 2006-07
Function and subfunction Expenditures (in thousands of current dollars) Percentage distribution of
 current expenditures for public schools
1990-91 1995-96 1999-2000 2000-01 2003-04 2004-05 2005-061 2006-07 1990-91 1995-96 1999-2000 2000-01 2003-04 2004-05 2005-061 2006-07
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Total expenditures $229,429,715   $293,646,490 $381,838,155 $410,811,185 $474,241,531 $499,568,736 $528,268,772 $562,252,677
Current expenditures for
   public schools
202,037,752   255,106,683 323,888,508 348,360,841 403,390,369 425,047,565 449,131,342 476,825,866 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
                                 
Salaries 132,730,931 2  165,806,160 210,158,874 224,305,806 252,179,893 261,572,535 273,142,308 288,141,585 65.70 64.99 64.89 64.39 62.52 61.54 60.82 60.43
Employee benefits 33,954,456 2  44,786,697 53,333,592 57,976,490 74,483,569 81,930,228 87,888,909 95,306,725 16.81 17.56 16.47 16.64 18.46 19.28 19.57 19.99
Purchased services 16,380,643 2  21,579,562 29,051,785 31,778,754 37,505,263 39,870,015 43,195,665 46,261,688 8.11 8.46 8.97 9.12 9.30 9.38 9.62 9.70
Tuition 1,192,505 2  1,590,468 2,231,250 2,458,366 3,327,600 3,605,864 3,828,079 4,021,575 0.59 0.62 0.69 0.71 0.82 0.85 0.85 0.84
Supplies 14,805,956 2  18,756,157 25,896,917 28,262,078 31,907,726 33,870,267 36,637,037 38,332,617 7.33 7.35 8.00 8.11 7.91 7.97 8.16 8.04
Other 2,973,261 2  2,587,639 3,216,089 3,579,347 3,986,317 4,198,655 4,439,345 4,761,675 1.47 1.01 0.99 1.03 0.99 0.99 0.99 1.00
                                 
Instruction 122,223,362   157,473,978 199,968,138 214,333,003 247,444,620 260,046,266 273,760,798 290,710,402 60.50 61.73 61.74 61.53 61.34 61.18 60.95 60.97
Salaries 90,742,284   114,580,985 145,071,564 154,512,089 172,998,433 179,124,955 186,905,065 196,898,354 44.91 44.91 44.79 44.35 42.89 42.14 41.61 41.29
Employee benefits 22,347,524   30,299,566 36,197,167 39,522,678 50,040,333 55,004,561 59,032,817 64,151,809 11.06 11.88 11.18 11.35 12.40 12.94 13.14 13.45
Purchased services 2,722,639   3,825,111 5,839,673 6,430,708 8,242,306 9,014,911 10,083,561 10,996,634 1.35 1.50 1.80 1.85 2.04 2.12 2.25 2.31
Tuition 1,192,505   1,590,468 2,231,250 2,458,366 3,327,600 3,605,864 3,828,079 4,021,575 0.59 0.62 0.69 0.71 0.82 0.85 0.85 0.84
Supplies 4,584,754   6,513,488 9,751,743 10,377,554 11,722,378 12,163,557 12,731,138 13,326,804 2.27 2.55 3.01 2.98 2.91 2.86 2.83 2.79
Other 633,656   664,360 876,741 1,031,608 1,113,570 1,132,418 1,180,138 1,315,226 0.31 0.26 0.27 0.30 0.28 0.27 0.26 0.28
                                 
Student support3  8,926,010   12,266,136 16,046,845 17,292,756 20,881,322 22,118,879 23,336,224 25,200,234 4.42 4.81 4.95 4.96 5.18 5.20 5.20 5.28
Salaries 6,565,965   8,885,707 11,496,451 12,354,464 14,485,849 15,173,471 15,833,312 16,868,637 3.25 3.48 3.55 3.55 3.59 3.57 3.53 3.54
Employee benefits 1,660,082   2,307,480 2,841,949 3,036,037 4,040,367 4,475,112 4,859,310 5,352,751 0.82 0.90 0.88 0.87 1.00 1.05 1.08 1.12
Purchased services 455,996   687,300 1,180,701 1,328,600 1,708,119 1,799,403 1,958,934 2,137,495 0.23 0.27 0.36 0.38 0.42 0.42 0.44 0.45
Supplies 191,482   247,262 389,044 421,838 464,635 483,889 497,201 517,517 0.09 0.10 0.12 0.12 0.12 0.11 0.11 0.11
Other 52,485   138,387 138,699 151,817 182,352 187,005 187,468 323,835 0.03 0.05 0.04 0.04 0.05 0.04 0.04 0.07
                                 
                                 
Instructional staff
     services4 
8,467,142   10,070,241 14,640,411 15,926,856 19,091,186 20,387,692 21,923,223 23,152,421 4.19 3.95 4.52 4.57 4.73 4.80 4.88 4.86
Salaries 5,560,129   6,418,530 8,971,366 9,790,767 11,483,486 12,108,423 13,005,332 13,751,871 2.75 2.52 2.77 2.81 2.85 2.85 2.90 2.88
Employee benefits 1,408,217   1,719,377 2,169,051 2,356,440 3,157,356 3,546,696 3,898,171 4,224,718 0.70 0.67 0.67 0.68 0.78 0.83 0.87 0.89
Purchased services 622,487   925,403 1,776,849 2,003,598 2,474,229 2,731,885 2,944,703 3,071,580 0.31 0.36 0.55 0.58 0.61 0.64 0.66 0.64
Supplies 776,863   918,189 1,485,730 1,566,954 1,777,640 1,791,507 1,867,878 1,892,726 0.38 0.36 0.46 0.45 0.44 0.42 0.42 0.40
Other 99,445   88,743 237,415 209,097 198,476 209,181 207,139 211,525 0.05 0.03 0.07 0.06 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.04
                                 
General administration 5,791,253   5,878,493 6,698,006 7,108,291 8,266,957 8,510,315 8,920,041 9,337,239 2.87 2.30 2.07 2.04 2.05 2.00 1.99 1.96
Salaries 2,603,562   2,901,172 3,179,759 3,351,554 3,732,878 3,725,275 3,860,883 4,023,945 1.29 1.14 0.98 0.96 0.93 0.88 0.86 0.84
Employee benefits 777,381   828,483 938,113 1,000,698 1,262,864 1,375,298 1,479,556 1,560,335 0.38 0.32 0.29 0.29 0.31 0.32 0.33 0.33
Purchased services 1,482,427   1,626,178 1,941,822 2,099,032 2,505,398 2,635,243 2,735,714 2,902,431 0.73 0.64 0.60 0.60 0.62 0.62 0.61 0.61
Supplies 172,898   185,831 196,205 206,137 217,151 221,376 225,230 226,927 0.09 0.07 0.06 0.06 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05
Other 754,985   336,828 442,107 450,870 548,666 553,123 618,657 623,601 0.37 0.13 0.14 0.13 0.14 0.13 0.14 0.13
                                 
School administration 11,695,344   14,831,159 18,381,292 19,580,890 22,597,918 24,155,908 25,277,042 26,875,252 5.79 5.81 5.68 5.62 5.60 5.68 5.63 5.64
Salaries 8,935,903   11,156,460 13,923,730 14,817,213 16,626,755 17,467,947 18,181,910 19,209,801 4.42 4.37 4.30 4.25 4.12 4.11 4.05 4.03
Employee benefits 2,257,783   2,963,991 3,455,390 3,689,689 4,710,083 5,217,866 5,622,342 6,092,248 1.12 1.16 1.07 1.06 1.17 1.23 1.25 1.28
Purchased services 247,750   384,908 573,003 611,638 754,181 896,782 862,664 947,665 0.12 0.15 0.18 0.18 0.19 0.21 0.19 0.20
Supplies 189,711   256,857 337,651 369,257 399,456 439,418 474,816 481,654 0.09 0.10 0.10 0.11 0.10 0.10 0.11 0.10
Other 64,197   68,943 91,519 93,093 107,444 133,896 135,311 143,884 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03
                                 
Operation and maintenance 21,290,655   25,724,062 31,190,295 34,034,158 38,720,429 40,926,881 44,313,835 46,824,904 10.54 10.08 9.63 9.77 9.60 9.63 9.87 9.82
Salaries 8,849,559   10,454,854 12,745,457 13,461,242 14,811,588 15,344,880 16,021,701 16,837,148 4.38 4.10 3.94 3.86 3.67 3.61 3.57 3.53
Employee benefits 2,633,075   3,129,632 3,531,423 3,778,520 5,019,477 5,483,344 5,840,665 6,276,703 1.30 1.23 1.09 1.08 1.24 1.29 1.30 1.32
Purchased services 5,721,125   7,698,704 8,866,099 9,642,217 10,463,087 10,921,591 11,913,734 12,650,704 2.83 3.02 2.74 2.77 2.59 2.57 2.65 2.65
Supplies 3,761,738   4,214,201 5,801,242 6,871,845 8,091,029 8,832,550 10,147,971 10,644,004 1.86 1.65 1.79 1.97 2.01 2.08 2.26 2.23
Other 325,157   226,670 246,075 280,334 335,247 344,516 389,764 416,345 0.16 0.09 0.08 0.08 0.08 0.08 0.09 0.09
                                 
Student transportation 8,678,954   10,396,426 13,007,625 14,052,654 16,348,784 17,459,659 18,850,234 19,979,044 4.30 4.08 4.02 4.03 4.05 4.11 4.20 4.19
Salaries 3,285,127   3,933,969 5,061,209 5,406,092 6,105,136 6,379,953 6,701,455 7,080,752 1.63 1.54 1.56 1.55 1.51 1.50 1.49 1.48
Employee benefits 892,985   1,207,961 1,464,249 1,592,127 2,119,101 2,333,027 2,535,296 2,719,742 0.44 0.47 0.45 0.46 0.53 0.55 0.56 0.57
Purchased services 3,345,232   4,257,805 5,331,435 5,767,462 6,736,968 7,054,340 7,547,730 8,085,392 1.66 1.67 1.65 1.66 1.67 1.66 1.68 1.70
Supplies 961,447   836,450 1,034,323 1,159,350 1,192,548 1,501,906 1,867,495 1,937,336 0.48 0.33 0.32 0.33 0.30 0.35 0.42 0.41
Other 194,163   160,239 116,410 127,623 195,031 190,433 198,259 155,822 0.10 0.06 0.04 0.04 0.05 0.04 0.04 0.03
                                 
Other support services5 5,587,837   7,039,408 10,188,917 11,439,134 13,488,270 14,058,464 14,463,815 15,511,944 2.77 2.76 3.15 3.28 3.34 3.31 3.22 3.25
Salaries 2,900,394   3,450,836 4,930,099 5,521,381 6,344,591 6,437,831 6,577,129 7,140,073 1.44 1.35 1.52 1.58 1.57 1.51 1.46 1.50
Employee benefits 980,859   1,182,229 1,433,054 1,594,540 2,265,789 2,486,442 2,483,366 2,658,633 0.49 0.46 0.44 0.46 0.56 0.58 0.55 0.56
Purchased services 798,922   1,362,961 2,462,775 2,783,176 3,185,599 3,277,148 3,455,292 3,664,584 0.40 0.53 0.76 0.80 0.79 0.77 0.77 0.77
Supplies 294,527   398,534 573,670 626,889 766,110 771,940 793,997 873,048 0.15 0.16 0.18 0.18 0.19 0.18 0.18 0.18
Other 613,135   644,849 789,319 913,148 926,181 1,085,102 1,154,031 1,175,605 0.30 0.25 0.24 0.26 0.23 0.26 0.26 0.25
                                 
Food services 8,430,490   10,648,844 12,948,807 13,816,635 15,652,674 16,423,973 17,263,582 18,149,847 4.17 4.17 4.00 3.97 3.88 3.86 3.84 3.81
Salaries   3,844,285 4,606,262 4,966,092 5,409,803 5,606,416 5,841,522 6,092,744 1.51 1.42 1.43 1.34 1.32 1.30 1.28
Employee benefits   1,103,433 1,267,921 1,381,923 1,790,483 1,934,067 2,061,344 2,186,495 0.43 0.39 0.40 0.44 0.46 0.46 0.46
Purchased services   627,902 897,762 923,091 1,252,027 1,332,761 1,464,511 1,558,949 0.25 0.28 0.26 0.31 0.31 0.33 0.33
Supplies   4,916,299 6,041,001 6,420,201 7,009,747 7,385,373 7,727,182 8,122,722 1.93 1.87 1.84 1.74 1.74 1.72 1.70
Other   156,924 135,861 125,327 190,613 165,355 169,023 188,937 0.06 0.04 0.04 0.05 0.04 0.04 0.04
                                 
Enterprise operations6 946,705   777,937 818,172 776,463 898,209 959,528 1,022,549 1,084,578 0.47 0.30 0.25 0.22 0.22 0.23 0.23 0.23
Salaries   179,360 172,977 124,913 181,374 203,383 213,999 238,259 0.07 0.05 0.04 0.04 0.05 0.05 0.05
Employee benefits   44,545 35,276 23,837 77,717 73,816 76,042 83,290 0.02 0.01 0.01 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02
Purchased services   183,288 181,666 189,230 183,349 205,951 228,823 246,253 0.07 0.06 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05
Supplies   269,046 286,309 242,052 267,031 278,751 304,129 309,881 0.11 0.09 0.07 0.07 0.07 0.07 0.06
Other   101,697 141,943 196,430 188,738 197,628 199,556 206,895 0.04 0.04 0.06 0.05 0.05 0.04 0.04
                                 
Other current expenditures 3,295,717   4,724,659 5,457,015 6,063,700 6,927,551 7,691,468 7,415,575 7,804,253
Community services 964,370   1,728,669 2,151,043 2,426,189 2,720,844 2,813,379 3,015,207 3,105,955
Private school programs 527,609   781,148 961,203 1,026,695 1,146,373 1,236,495 1,389,204 1,445,984
Adult education 1,365,523   1,500,438 1,715,332 1,838,265 1,968,046 1,964,631 2,001,459 2,047,409
Community colleges 5,356   7,746 265 351 210 435 0 31,352
Other 432,858   706,657 629,172 772,200 1,092,079 1,676,529 1,009,704 1,173,552
                                 
Capital outlay7 19,771,478   27,555,667 43,357,186 46,220,704 50,842,973 53,528,382 57,375,299 62,909,675
Public schools 19,655,496   27,457,489 43,231,206 46,078,494 50,731,632 53,430,719 57,281,425 62,809,621
Other current expenditures 115,982   98,179 125,980 142,210 111,341 97,663 93,874 100,054
                                 
Interest on school debt 4,324,768   6,259,480 9,135,445 10,165,940 13,080,638 13,301,322 14,346,556 14,712,882
—Not available.
†Not applicable.
1 Data have been revised from previously published figures.
2 Includes estimated data for subfunctions of food services and enterprise operations.
3 Includes expenditures for guidance, health, attendance, and speech pathology services.
4 Includes expenditures for curriculum development, staff training, libraries, and media and computer centers.
5 Includes business support services concerned with paying, transporting, exchanging, and maintaining goods and services for local education agencies; central support services, including planning, research, evaluation, information, staff, and data processing services; and other support services.
6 Includes expenditures for operations funded by sales of products or services (e.g., school bookstore or computer time). Includes very small amounts for direct program support made by state education agencies for local school districts.
7 Includes expenditures for property, and for buildings and alterations completed by school district staff or contractors.
NOTE: Excludes expenditures for state education agencies. Data are not adjusted for changes in the purchasing power of the dollar due to inflation. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core of Data (CCD), "National Public Education Financial Survey," 1990-91 through 2006-07. (This table was prepared May 2009.)

2009 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest