Number of Pupils Related to Expenditures 



There is some evidence of economies of scale when relating the 

 number of resident pupils to expenditures per pupil. ^ It must be remem- 

 bered, however, that the number of pupils is only one of several factors 

 which influence expenditures for education. Obviously, if the number 

 of pupils in a district is doubled, the costs per pupil need not also 

 double, assuming influential factors other than enrollment remain con- 

 stant. When comparing two separate districts, it is conceivable that a 

 district with 100 resident pupils might have much lower costs per pupil 

 than another with 200 pupils, because of factors other than enrollment. 

 In this respect, the analysis exposes extreme deviations from averages. 



Table 1 gives the relation between the total number of resident 

 pupils and the range, average and median expenditures per pupil for 

 rural districts grouped according to the number of resident pupils. For 

 all 154 districts, the range in expenditures per pupil is from $228 to $742, 

 a difference of $514. Both of these extremes exist among districts having 

 fewer than 150 pupils. The range between the extremes for groups of 

 districts having more than 150 resident pupils is only about one-third 

 of the range for those groups of districts with fewer than 150 pupils. The 

 average expenditures per pupil, however, decline as the number of 

 pupils increases, thereby indicating some economy as a result of more 



Table 1. Relation of Total Number of Resident Pupils to Expenditures 



per Pupil, all Grades K-12. 



pupils. Because of the prevalence of the property tax as the major source 

 of revenue in support of public education, there is evidence here that 

 such support is more burdensome on some districts than on others. 

 Some districts have a small taxable wealth per pupil, while others enjoy 

 a high taxable wealth per pupil. This and other factors will be discussed 

 subsequently. 



1 Economies of scale exist when the cost (expenditure) per pupil drops as the 

 scale, that is, school size as measured by enrollment, increases. 



