To investigate school districts' responses to fiscal constraint, this study examined the relationship between districts' expenditures per student and allocations of funds to instructional, support, and administrative costs. Budget allocations, as indicators of the districts' priorities, were compared for 1978-79 and 1981-82 in 46 Oregon school districts whose fiscal situations varied widely. The findings indicate that when fiscal constraint was greatest, priority was given to instruction over other budget categories, and to personnel over other objects of expenditure. As constraint diminished, larger shares of budgets were allocated to administration and to capital outlay. Surprisingly, however, the school districts in the sample generally did not experience fiscal constraint; none of them had actual budget reductions, and both total expenditures and expenditures per student grew substantially in real dollars dispite Oregon's severe recession. Finally, although the sample districts had reduced the number of teachers, they had increased their total instructional staffs and decreased the student/instructional personnel ratio by adding less expensive instructional aides. (Author/MCG)