Stark funding disparities

In 23 states, state and local governments together spend less per pupil in their poorest districts than in their most affluent, according to federal data from fiscal year 2012, reports Emma Brown in The Washington Post. In Pennsylvania, per-pupil spending in the poorest districts is 33 percent lower than in the wealthiest. Vermont's differential is 18 percent; Missouri's, 17 percent. Nationwide, states and localities spend an average of 15 percent less per pupil in the poorest districts. In general, since wealthier towns and counties can raise more money through taxes to support schools, many states have developed school-finance systems that send extra dollars to poorer areas, yet the aid rarely compensates adequately. Federal spending -- including through Title I -- is somewhat of an equalizer. When federal dollars are included, just five states spend less in their poorest districts than in their wealthiest, and nationally, disparity drops from 15 percent to less than 2 percent. And in 23 other states, students in the poorest districts receive more state and local tax dollars per pupil than in the most affluent. Differences are biggest in Indiana and Minnesota, which respectively spend 17 and 15 percent more in their poorest districts. More

Source:  Public Education News Blast

Published by LEAP

Los Angeles Education Partnership (LAEP) is an education support organization that works as a collaborative partner in high-poverty communities.