Education funding rebounds.

Education has been especially hard hit by states' sagging economies during the past several years. Education takes a larger share of the state budget than any other program. Yet the schools' share of the budget decreased in 38 states between fiscal 1991 and 1992.

But education funding may be on the rebound. State general fund appropriations for K-12 education increased some $11.5 billion in FY 1994. With the excepion of California--which cut its education funding some 15.6 percent in FY 1993 because of a requirement that local governments pick up more of the cost--states increased education funding about 5 percent. In fact, average per pupil expenditures have grown from $2,502 in 1980-81 to $5,616 in 1992-93.

The new money comes at a critical time. A mini baby boom in the 1980s and an influx of Asian and Latin American immigrants have meant eight consecutive years of enrollment increases.

In the 1991-92 and 1992-93 school years enrollment rose from 27.6 million to 28 million in elementary schools and from 14.4...