TABLE 6.—Total expenditures for public schools in the United States1 2 Index figures taken from Nat. Educ. Assoc. Research Bul., vol. 1, No. 2, p. 94. TABLE 7.-Average daily attendance in elementary and secondary schools at different dates Continental United Alabama. 4, 545, 317 6, 144, 143 8, 153, 635 10, 632, 772 12, 827, 30716, 150, 035 19, 132, 451 107, 666 Arizona. Arkansas. California. 255, 135 100, 966 146, 589 Colorado.. 197, 395 286, 744 2, 611 12, 618 38, 715 73, 291 107, 520 150, 090 179, 476 TABLE 7.-Average daily attendance in elementary and secondary schools at different dates-Continued Why school costs have increased.-Important factors responsible for the increase in total annual expenditure on school support in the United States are (1) the decrease in the purchasing power of the dollar; (2) the great increase in school enrollment and attendance and consequent increase in number of teachers and equipment necessitated thereby; (3) the large proportionate increase in attendance in secondary schools, the per capita cost of maintaining which is approximately double that of maintaining elementary schools; (4) the provision of better facilities, particularly those which satisfy the needs of a broader curriculum involving additional special subjects and teachers; and (5) the need for a large school-building program because of the practical stagnation of building and improvement during the war period. It should be remembered that we expect more of our schools now than in the past and that we expect also better work, better trained teachers, a far broader training, more consideration to hygienic and sanitary conditions of buildings and grounds, and the like, and that materialization of all of these ideals means vastly increased expenditure of money. The latest figures obtainable concerning cost of education in 1924 for the United States as a whole and for each State are given in Table 8. Table 9 shows the cost per pupil based on average daily attendance in elementary schools and in secondary schools in certain selected States. These averages may be used as guides in estimating probable expenditures necessary for the coming school year or years. In many of the States the low average cost shown in the table is due to the fact that the State has a large number of poor country schools maintaining short terms and paying inadequate salaries to teachers. TABLE 8.-Cost of education per pupil attending Continental United States-- $95. 16 Nebraska $101.58 170.94 97.25 Nevada New Hampshire. New Jersey-. 141.78 New Mexico.. 73.81 TABLE 9.-Cost of education per pupil in average daily attendance in elemen When a State provides all of its children equal educational opportunities the average cost for the State as a whole will approach the average maintained by its better cities. Allowing for the actual difference in the cost of maintaining urban and rural schools of equal grade, it is safe to say that when the cost per child per day in any State is lower than the average for the United States, that State is probably spending less than it should on education. SOURCES OF SCHOOL FUNDS School moneys are now provided by States, counties, cities, townships, and districts. In all States a portion of the total cost is borne by the State. The proportional amount varies greatly, from Delaware, which provides 76.1 per cent, to Kansas, which provides 1.6 per cent. For the United States as a whole, approximately threefourths of the total cost is borne by local school units. In some States the chief source of local support is a county tax. In others it is a county tax with a special school district tax. In others there is the local school district tax only. State school funds are received FIG. 4.-Percentage distribution of total revenue receipts by States, 1924 from a number of sources, among them permanent invested funds, State property tax, appropriations from general State revenues, miscellaneous sources, such as corporation tax, income tax, severance tax. The permanent school funds are largely derived from the sale of school lands. These lands were given by acts of Congress to the several States for the benefit of public education. In a few cases States also set aside lands for the benefit of education. STATE TAXES AND APPROPRIATIONS State school tax funds are generally derived from one or more of the following sources: (1) State-wide tax on all taxable real and personal property, the rate fixed in the statutes or in the constitution; (2) State-wide tax on all taxable real and personal property, the rate variable; the total amount or the per capita amount to be raised fixed by statute (per capita may be scholastic population, average daily attendance, or other unit); (3) a fixed portion of State gross receipts; (4) all or a portion of the proceeds of special taxes, such as income taxes, inheritance taxes, taxes on stocks and bonds, poll taxes. State appropriations result from direct legislative enactment, made as a rule annually or biennially. There is at present a great amount of interest in the possibilities of special taxation sources for school support. This is due to the fact that property tax is now in many States the sole source of school funds as well as the sole source of support for all local and State government, and property is becoming more and more heavily burdened. It is believed by some authorities on taxation that unless property is relieved from taxation for some type of public-service purposes, property ownership, even home ownership, may become burdensome. There is the added consideration that in a number of States the valuations are not equalized among local school districts, counties, or other units of taxation, and that when a particular millage levy is made for State purposes it becomes unfair to certain local units. The system puts a premium on the tendency to place low valuations on property within local units by local authorities. A State general property tax has been found, therefore, to encourage constituent political corporations to lower their valuations. The more the valuation is lowered, the smaller will be the amount paid into the State treasury. Tax units which assess their property at a high per cent of their true valuation are, therefore, penalized twice; first, when they pay State taxes at the same rate that units assessing their property at a low per cent of their true valuation pay; second, when State funds are apportioned, since they are then prorated to them on the same basis as to districts paying State tax on a low-tax valuation. Many authorities on taxation condemn, for the above and other reasons, general property tax as the sole source of school revenue. Newer types of State taxes.-States are employing to a considerable extent corporation taxes, income taxes, and other types of taxes instead of, or in addition to, general property taxes as a means of producing State school revenues. For example, schools in New |