The Christian Science Monitor – Stacy Teicher Khadaroo
“While the debate rages over the federal budget and how much will go to K-12 schools, states and localities supply the biggest share of education dollars – about 87 percent on average. But is that money distributed fairly to the students who need it most? School districts that serve the most students in poverty receive an average of $1,200, or 10 percent, less per student in state and local funding than districts with few students in poverty, according to a report released Thursday by The Education Trust released Thursday by The Education Trust (Ed Trust), a group in Washington that advocates for closing economic and racial inequities in schools. The resource gap grows to $2,200 when adjusting to account for an estimated 40 percent higher cost to educate high-poverty students, the report notes. “We know that money is not the only thing that matters for student success, but at the same time, inequities in funding underlie a whole lot of other inequities in our school systems,” says Natasha Ushomirsky, the report’s co-author.”(more)