![[Table of Contents]](/icons/up.gif){kind=icon}
PART I ADMINISTRATION, ORGANIZATION, AND FINANCING OF THE EDUCATION SYSTEM
In 1992-93, the United States spent an estimated $445.3 billion, or 7.8 percent its gross national product, on education. Funds for education came primarily from taxes collected by State, local, and Federal governments. In 1988-89, about $330.5 billion, or 6.8 percent of its gross national product, was spent on education.
Public elementary and secondary schools receive virtually all of their revenues from government sources, mostly from the State or local school district. In 1992, total revenue receipts amounted to $261.1 billion, as opposed to $158.8 billion in 1987. Until relatively recent times, local government has been the prime source of funding for elementary and secondary schools; but since 1978-79, revenues from State governments have slightly exceeded those from local governments. For example, in 1990-91, the federal government spent $6.7 billion on elementary and secondary education; State governments spent $43.6 billion; and local governments spent $40.6 billion, with an additional $10.1 billion spent by private and other sources. With the increased role of the State in financing public elementary and secondary education, the proportionate share of funding by the Federal government has correspondingly decreased, despite a steady increment of Federal spending on education over the past two decades. Thus, while the proportion of revenue received from the Federal government dropped from 9.8 percent of the total in 1980 to 5.6 percent in 1993, Federal expenditures on education rose from $14.1 billion in 1980 to $34.8 billion in 1992 -- an increase of slightly more than 145 percent. The Federal share of education costs tends to be greatest in States and localities with large numbers of disadvantaged children or with numerous Federal installations.
Per-pupil expenditures varied greatly among the States in 1989-1990, the last period for which figures are available, from a high of $8,374 in Alaska to a low of $2,730 in Utah, with the level of most States ranging from $4,000 to $6,000. These differences are not just a result of varying levels of commitment to education but reflect cost-of-living differences and the relative economic bases from which States can derive income. Within States where there are large discrepancies among per-pupil expenditures there have been court challenges to equalize the distribution of State funds.
About 30 percent of the total funds for education flow to higher education institutions -- 10 percent less than in 1989. However, during the past decade, expenditures and tuition costs for these institutions have risen significantly.
After adjustment for inflation at colleges and universities, current-fund expenditures per student rose about 17 percent between 1980-81 and 1990-91. Administrative expenditures (institutional support and academic support, less libraries) have been rising more rapidly than most other types of college expenditures. At public universities, between 1980-81 and 1990- 91, inflation adjusted administration expenditures rose 28 percent compared with 12 percent for instruction expenditures per student. At private universities during the same period, the per student administrative costs rose 45 percent, and the instruction costs rose by 38 percent. One of the most rapidly rising expenditures during the decades was the funding of scholarships and fellowships, which rose by 51 percent per student at public universities and by 71 percent at private universities.
As for tuition, for the 1992-93 academic year, annual undergraduate charges for tuition, room, and board are estimated at $5,394 at public colleges and $14,741 at private colleges. Between 1982-83 and 1992-93, charges at public colleges have risen by 83 percent and charges at private colleges by 113 percent. These increases substantially surpassed the rise in the Consumer price Index, which was up about 45 percent during the same period.
In school year 1992-93, the U.S. Department of Education contributed an estimated $36.7 billion to help support and strengthen the Nation's schools. The Department contributed 5.7 percent of the Nation's total expenditures on elementary and secondary education and 12.2 percent of total expenditures on higher education, as well as funded adult and vocational education, public libraries, education research and statistics, and its own management costs. In addition, almost every other Federal agency funded some programs that directly or indirectly contributed money and services to schools.
The following summaries and funding estimates for Fiscal Year 1993 demonstrate the continued level of financial support and public visibility in six major Federal Programs.
The primary program for the disadvantaged (generally referred to as "Chapter 1" provides compensatory education services for about 5 million disadvantaged elementary and secondary school students. These funds are appropriated to provide supplementary services to assist disadvantaged children to acquire basic academic skills and thus enhance their opportunity to participate fully in society and to share equally in its benefits. Funding was $4.6 billion in 1989 and an estimated $6.7 billion in 1993.
This program provides special services for about 4 million children with disabilities in elementary and secondary schools. It assists States to provide opportunities for education to students with disabilities. The goal is to ensure that all such children acquire basic academic skills and thus enhance their opportunity to participate fully in society and to share equally in its benefits. Funding was for $4.6 billion in 1989, and an estimated $5.2 billion in 1993.
This program provides support services to about 17 million students. Funds are channeled into activities directly related to improving vocational education; into programs for "special populations," including children with disabilities and those educationally disadvantaged; and into strengthening the capacity for State leadership in vocational education. Funding for 1989 was $1.1 billion and an estimated $1.48 billion in 1993.
This grant program (often referred to as "Chapter 2"), part of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act of 1981, provides aid to States to improve the quality of education for all children. This program focuses on general improvement in education rather than on narrow categorical activities, while allowing local and State officials to set their own priorities among the various activities. Chapter 2 operates on the assumption that the States and local school districts have the best understanding of the needs of their children and that they must be given the flexibility to use this understanding in a way that will best serve local schools and students. Funding for 1989 was $1.3 billion and an estimated $1.5 billion in 1993.
Known as "Impact Aid," this program assists school districts that enroll students whose parents both live and work on Federal property and thus are ineligible for an education funded by local tax revenues. Funding for 1989 was $.8 billion and an estimated $.75 billion in 1993.
These programs help students meet the cost of attending postsecondary institutions through grants, low-interest loans, and work study programs. Almost 80 percent of all student aid is derived from these programs. Funding for 1989 was $10.5 billion and an estimated 12 billion in 1993.
Other Department of Education programs that expend a significant amount of financial support include: education research and improvement; adult education; bilingual and minority language programs; and aid to higher education. Combined funding for these programs in 1989 was $2.6 billion and an estimated $2.8 billion in 1993.
-###-
[Part II - Statistics]