CHAPTER VIII 
PUBLIC SCHOOL FINANCE 
UBLIC school finance is a very live issue in Missouri at 
the present time. It was recently recommended that 
the state government undertake to equalize educational 
opportunities throughout the state by a program that would 
involve the expenditure by the state of considerable addi- 
tional sums each year in the form of state aid. In effect, the 
adoption of such a program would transfer to the state 
government a substantial part of the burden now borne by 
the school districts. The proposal is advocated as a means of 
extending to all public school pupils in the state the oppor- 
tunity to obtain a public school education comparable with 
that now provided only in certain parts of the state. The 
plan does not provide for absolutely uniform educational 
standards throughout the state, but it does provide that 
certain minimum standards shall be established and main- 
tained. 
It has been estimated that the additional state aid over a 
ten-year period would amount to $100.6 million,! if the plan 
were adopted. This sum is equivalent to approximately two 
times the expenditures for all public schools for the school 
year ended in 1929. Before examining the proposed plan in 
detail it is desirable to consider the expenditures for public 
schools in Missouri over a period of years, the present system 
of state aid, and the expenditures of the state for public school 
purposes. 
PusLic ScrHooL EXPENDITURES 
In the school year ended June 30, 1929.2 public school 
expenditures in Missouri amounted to 351.3 million, of which 
$30.8 million was for teachers’ salaries. It may be seen in 
| Exclusive of $2.1 million of additional building aid. 
21n referring to school years, the designation “school year ended” is not used in 
the remainder of this section.