An Analysis of the Allocation of Earmarked Funds in School Accounting: Evidence from Public Elementary Schools in Chungnam Office of Education

This study collected data on earmarked expenses by combining project-specific funds and other operational expenses from the Chungnam Office of Education. It analyzed the financial autonomy and equity of public elementary schools in Chungnam in the areas of teaching and learning activity support and educational welfare, while also exploring factors influencing the allocation of project-specific funds. The results of the analysis are as follows: First, an examination of the financial autonomy of elementary schools in Chungnam from 2020 to 2023 revealed that although project-specific funds decreased, other operational expenses increased, leading to an overall rise in earmarked expenses. This trend ultimately constrained financial autonomy at the school level. Second, significant disparities were observed in the distribution of earmarked expenses among elementary schools in Chungnam. Some schools with a high proportion of educationally disadvantaged students received fewer earmarked funds, raising concerns about violations of vertical equity. Third, the allocation of project-specific funds for teaching and learning activity support was found to be significantly influenced by the number of students, the number of special education students, the number of educationally disadvantaged students, and the presence of an open recruited principal. However, for educational welfare project-specific funds, only the number of students and the number of educationally disadvantaged students had a statistically significant impact, indicating a difference in allocation criteria. ​​To enhance financial autonomy, it is necessary to gradually convert earmarked funds, including other operational expenses, into basic operating expenses. The fact that the number of students from educationally disadvantaged groups is positively correlated with an increase in project-specific funding can be viewed positively from an equity perspective. However, the issue where schools with a higher proportion of educationally disadvantaged students in certain school groups receive less targeted funding needs to be addressed.