Why White School Districts Have So Much More Money
In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education that segregated public schools are unconstitutional.
In 2018, on the 64th anniversary of that ruling, a lawsuit filed in New Jersey claimed that state's schools are some of the most segregated in the nation. That's because, the lawsuit alleges, New Jersey school district borders are drawn along municipality lines that reflect years of residential segregation.
The idea that school district borders carry years of history is the premise of a new report from the nonprofit EdBuild, which studies the ways schools are funded in the U.S.
The report starts with a number: $23 billion. According to EdBuild, that's how much more funding predominantly white school districts receive compared to districts that serve mostly students of color.
"For every student enrolled, the average nonwhite school district receives $2,226 less than a white school district," the report says.
EdBuild singles out 21 states — including California, New Jersey and New York — in which mostly white districts get more funding than districts composed of primarily students of color.
More than half of students in the U.S. go to segregated, or "racially concentrated" schools, according to the report. Those are schools in which more than three quarters CONTINUE READING: School Districts Serving Students Of Color Have Less Money : NPR
