In school finance, what does "capital outlay" refer to?

Capital outlay refers specifically to expenditures that are related to the construction and maintenance of facilities. This includes funds spent on building new structures, renovating existing ones, and making significant improvements to school facilities. Understanding capital outlay is crucial for school finance because it involves long-term investments that can enhance the educational environment, such as classrooms, sports complexes, and other infrastructure necessary for supporting students and staff.

The other options relate to different categories of school finance: staff salaries are operational costs, daily expenses involve the ongoing costs of running the school, and grants for extracurricular programs are often considered philanthropic or discretionary funding. None of these expenses fall under the definition of capital outlay, which is why they don't match the correct answer.