PUBLIC SCHOOL FINANCE 233 
Too much significance should not be attached to the 
variations in the percentage distribution of total expenditures 
from year to year. For example, the increase in the propor- 
tion for teachers’ salaries between 1927 and 1929 might ap- 
pear unusual, but on closer analysis the increase is found to 
be due largely to the decline in building expenses from about 
$16.9 million for 1927 to $10.9 million for 1929. In other 
words, the increase in teachers’ salaries was probably not so 
significant as the decline in the annual expenditures for 
building purposes. 
It should be clearly understood that the expenditures 
shown in Table 76 are not financed exclusively out of funds 
from local sources. Each year the state distributes con- 
siderable sums to the local governments for various purposes. 
The present system in accordance with which state funds are 
apportioned for public school purposes is discussed in the 
following section. 
State Alp ror PusLic ScrooLs 
The numerous statutes governing the disbursements made 
by the state to the local governments for public school pur- 
poses were not enacted as the result of a definite plan, but 
were superimposed upon one another as the various needs 
became urgent. Consequently, it cannot be said that the 
distributions are made in such a way that a high degree of 
equalization in educational opportunity is effected. Before 
andertaking an analysis of the present forms of state aid, it is 
desirable first to consider in detail the several state school 
funds, as well as a functional classification of state school 
grants and the bases of apportionment that are used. 
State School Funds in Missouri 
There are three important school funds; namely, the public 
school fund, the state school moneys fund, and the county 
foreign insurance tax fund. The public school fund consists 
of state certificates of indebtedness amounting to $3,159,000 
and a few hundred dollars additional obtained from other 
sources. The income from this fund is credited to the state 
school moneys fund. The latter is the most important fund.