STATE AND LOCAL EXPENDITURES 29 
When the prices of labor and materials increase rapidly, the 
most likely reaction is a curtailment of school construction. 
When these prices fall, the volume of construction increases. 
Consequently the figures for total school expenditures do not 
reflect the decline that otherwise might be expected because 
of the lower price level. While variations in school expendi- 
tures from year to year are not explainable on the basis of 
price level changes, the latter are, nevertheless, important in 
accounting for the change in expenditures between a year 
like 1927 or 1929 and a year considerably earlier, such as 
1915 or any of the years preceding. 
Other important factors in the growth of school expendi- 
tures are the increase in the school population and the shift 
of population from the country to the urban centers. The 
increase in the number of pupils enrolled in Missouri schools 
has not been particularly rapid, but even a small increase 
frequently represents a problem which those in authority 
must try to solve by adjusting existing facilities or by pro- 
viding for additions to the teaching staff or the school plant, 
or both. Even more significant is the trend in the distribu- 
tion of population between the urban centers and the rural 
sections of the state. Today more than one half of the popu- 
lation of Missouri is classified as urban. The movement from 
the farm has been particularly rapid during the past decade. 
Educational facilities in urban communities are relatively 
more expensive and are more adequate on the whole than are 
those in rural sections. A population shift such as has 
recently occurred in Missouri is naturally reflected in an in- 
crease in school expenditures at a more rapid rate than the 
increase in total or in school population. These factors, 
together with the higher educational standards that are con- 
stantly demanded, constitute the most important reasons for 
the rise in the level of local school expenditures. 
Expenditures for Local Roads 
Table 9 shows the disbursements for local roads for the 
years 1921 to 1929. The data presented in this table do not 
include the expenditures of the state for highway construc- 
tion and maintenance. Neither do the data include the ex- 
penditures of cities and incorporated towns for streets and