Where's the Money Going? Changes in the Level and Composition of Education Spending, 1991-96
This report examines shifts in the amount and composition of school spending growth over the 1991-96 period by analyzing expenditures in nine representative urban and suburban school districts. Major findings are: (1) the share of spending on regular education is shrinking; (2) special education funding grew to 19.0% of all school spending; (3) school lunch and breakfast programs grew to 4.8% of total school spending in 1996; (4) bilingual education programs grew to 2.5% of total school spending in 1996; and (5) the shift of school spending away from the regular education program continues a trend observed over the period from 1967 to 1991. It would, however, be inaccurate to conclude that special education or other special programs have been growing at the expense of regular education; such a conclusion would have to be based on speculation about what would have happened to regular education in the absence of the growth of special programs. This shift is a phenomenon worthy of policymakers' attention. The findings lend some support to the claims of those who deny that schools have wasted added funds received in the last 3 decades. (Contains eight tables, one figure, and four references.) (SLD)