Where All the Money Goes.

Opponents of public education have been harping for a dozen years now that total expenditures for schooling have gone up, even in periods of declining enrollment, while student achievement, they claim, has fallen.

The allegations of falling achievement have been well addressed in recent years by the once-hushed-up Sandia Report, produced by the Sandia National Laboratory in New Mexico and further work by Paul Houston and Joseph Schneider in their book, Exploding the Myths.

Further, the National Center for Education Statistics' latest "Condition of Education" report has shown that the achievement gap between white students and minority students has narrowed significantly over the past several years. At the same time, dropout rates for all races of students also have declined steadily.

A new study has emerged that documents just why expenditures have gone up and whom this money has served. The report, "Where's the Money Gone? Changes in the Level and Composition of Education Spending," published by the Economic Policy Institute, states: "Since the 1960s, different student populations bringing new challenges, new federal and state legislative mandates, and court rulings have created a host of new responsibilities.

"In many cases, these mandates have required reallocation of existing resources or created funds which come with strict stipulations regarding their use," the report added, saying public schools today must prepare children with disabilities for more independent living, fulfill welfare needs (through school breakfast and lunch programs), promote racial integration, teach English to immigrant children, and provide education even to the most unruly, unmotivated students.

Special Needs

The authors studied nine school districts--"urban, suburban, and rural; large, middle-sized, and small; from affluent, middle class, and poor communities; with high, average, and low percentages of minority and non-English speaking students."

They found per-pupil spending went up an average of 73 percent between 1967 and 1991, but barely a fourth of the increase went to support regular education. Regular education spending dropped from about 80 percent of all spending in 1967 to 59 percent in 1991. About 60 percent of the new dollars supported more diagnosis, instruction, and other services for special populations.

Of no surprise to educators is the finding that "special education programs represented the largest component of new spending on special populations. More than one-third of the net new dollars went to support special education students," according to the report.

Special education went from 4 percent of all expenditures in 1967 to 17 percent in 1991. "Every category," said the report, "of per-pupil special education spending grew substantially." Large increases were noted in private school tuitions for students with disabilities too severe for local districts to accommodate, and transportation increased from near zero to 6 percent of all special education costs in 1991.

In other spending on special populations, about 8 percent of schools' new money went to attendance, dropout prevention, alternative instruction, and counseling aimed at keeping students in school. "Programs to deter dropouts did not exist in 1967," the report pointed out.

Worth Reading

Other costly areas of school services were virtually nonexistent in 1967: academic and support services for pregnant and parenting teens, alternative schools for students who work or care for siblings during regular school hours, and separate classes for students suspended for disciplinary reasons.

Expanded school lunch programs and new programs for limited English proficient students also ate up substantial portions of new funding to schools.

The bottom line is that schools have done an incredible job in raising student achievement in view of the shrinking resources going to regular students, many of whom are college bound. Point all our critics to this new study to show them where all the much-criticized increases in school spending have gone.

Where's the Money Gone? Changes in the Level and Composition of Education Spending is available for $12 from the Economic Policy Institute, 1660 L St., N.W., Suite 1200, Washington, D.C. 20036, or by calling 800-374-4844.