A national analysis of survey information on educational expenditures marks the first time such a study has been done at the school-district level rather than the state level. Data on more than 4,000 school districts were derived from the National Center for Education Statistics 1987-88 Schools and Staffing Survey and the U.S. Census Bureau's report on school district expenditures. The findings indicate that substantial disparities exist in expenditures across school districts, and that the standard school-finance measures of dispersion indicate that the national variation exceeds the variation found in most, if not all, of the states. The analysis also shows that higher spending districts exhibit lower pupil-teacher ratios. Rural school districts have the lowest pupil-teacher ratio, followed by the suburbs of cities with a population of more than 500,000. In general, the larger the city, the lower the pupil-teacher ratio for both the city and its suburbs. More importantly, the findings show considerable differences in the propensity of school districts to spend additional funds on teacher resources. On average, a 10 percent average increase in district spending leads to a 5 percent increase in spending for smaller classes and higher teacher salaries. (JPT)