The first report in a series about state education agency (SEA) operations provides a baseline statistical description of agency functions and a limited set of data to aid in the management and support of SEA functions. Data on SEA revenue, expenditures, and personnel were aggregated and interpreted in five categories of public school membership to provide a comparative baseline for individual states. Alaska, the District of Columbia, and Hawaii are excluded from the analysis. Data are analyzed within several areas of major activity: service to local education agencies (LEAs), operation of schools, and vocational rehabilitation. Service to LEAs is further categorized by general management, internal services, planning and research, consultative services, and distribution of resources. The text is accompanied by 5 figures and 12 tables. The appendix describes the methodology and limitations of the data and contains a glossary and a copy of the questionnaire sent to the SEAs. (MLF)