SCHOOL FUNDING: AMERICA'S EDUCATION ORIGINAL SIN

SCHOOL FUNDING

AMERICA'S EDUCATION ORIGINAL SIN 

Let's talk about school funding, shall we? It's a topic that's as exciting as watching paint dry, but it's also one that's incredibly important. After all, our children are our future, and if we don't invest in their education, we're basically dooming ourselves to a future of idiocy. And let's face it, we've already got enough of that going around.

So, what's the problem with school funding? Well, for starters, it's based on property taxes. Yes, you read that right. The amount of money a school gets is based on how much its district's property is worth. So, if you live in a fancy-pants neighborhood with lots of mansions and swimming pools, your kids' school is going to be swimming in money. But if you live in a run-down apartment complex, your kids' school is going to be struggling to make ends meet.

Now, you might be thinking, "Well, that doesn't sound too bad. I mean, rich people pay more taxes, so they should get better schools, right?" Wrong! See, the problem with this system is that it creates segregation. Rich people live in rich neighborhoods, and poor people live in poor neighborhoods. And since school funding is based on property taxes, that means rich schools get richer and poor schools get poorer.

But wait, it gets worse! See, back in the day, there were these things called housing covenants. They were legal clauses that said you couldn't sell or rent your property to certain groups of people, usually based on race or ethnicity. So, basically, if you were Black or Hispanic or Asian or anything other than white, you couldn't live in certain neighborhoods. And since school funding was based on property taxes, that meant white schools got whiter and non-white schools got non-whiter.

And then there was white flight. That's when white people started leaving urban areas for suburban or rural areas because they didn't want to live near non-white people. And since school funding was based on property taxes, that meant suburban and rural schools got whiter and urban schools got non-whiter.

So, what's the solution? Well, for starters, we need to stop funding schools based on property taxes. We need to find a way to fund schools that doesn't create segregation. Maybe we could have a national education fund that distributes money equally to all schools regardless of their location or property values. Or maybe we could have a system where the federal government provides more funding to schools with higher poverty rates or more English language learners or more special education needs.

But until we figure out a better way to fund schools, we're stuck with this broken system. And that means we're stuck with schools that are segregated by race and income. So, if you want your kids to get a good education, you better start saving up for that mansion in Beverly Hills. Or better yet, start a housing covenant of your own and keep all those poor people out of your neighborhood. Just kidding! Don't do that. That's illegal and morally reprehensible. But seriously, we need to fix this school funding thing ASAP. Our future depends on it.

THE DEFT DIVE

Urban vs. Suburban Funding

• - Urban school districts tend to receive more funding per student than suburban or rural districts, but they also face higher costs and greater challenges in serving their students, such as higher poverty rates, more English language learners, and more special education needs.
• - Urban districts also rely more on state and federal funding sources than suburban or rural districts, which makes them more vulnerable to budget cuts or policy changes at those levels.
• - Suburban districts tend to have more local revenue sources, such as property taxes, which can create funding disparities across districts within the same region or state. Suburban districts with higher property values can generate more revenue for their schools than those with lower property values, even if they have similar tax rates.
• - Some sources that discuss urban vs. suburban funding are:
•   - [Financing California’s Public Schools](https://www.ppic.org/publication/financing-californias-public-schools/)
•   - [How Has Education Funding Changed Over Time?](https://apps.urban.org/features/education-funding-trends/)
•   - [A Punishing Decade for School Funding](https://www.cbpp.org/research/state-budget-and-tax/a-punishing-decade-for-school-funding)

White Flight and Housing Covenants

• - White flight refers to the phenomenon of white residents leaving urban areas for suburban or rural areas, especially in response to the desegregation of public schools and housing in the mid-20th century. White flight contributed to the racial and economic segregation of neighborhoods and schools, as well as the decline of urban tax bases and services.
• - Housing covenants are legal clauses that restrict the sale or rental of property to certain groups of people, usually based on race or ethnicity. Housing covenants were widely used by white homeowners and developers to exclude Black people and other people of color from certain neighborhoods, especially in the early 20th century. Housing covenants were declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1948, but they continued to be enforced by private parties and local governments for decades afterward.
• - Some sources that discuss white flight and housing covenants are:
•   - [Causes and Consequences of Separate and Unequal Neighborhoods](https://www.urban.org/racial-equity-analytics-lab/structural-racism-explainer-collection/causes-and-consequences-separate-and-unequal-neighborhoods)
•   - [After a half-century of federal oversight, segregated neighborhoods are still pervasive: ABC News analysis](https://abcnews.go.com/US/half-century-federal-oversight-segregated-neighborhoods-pervasive-abc/story?id=82678035)
•   - [Racial Disparities in Home Appreciation](https://www.americanprogress.org/article/racial-disparities-home-appreciation/)

Race and Funding

• - Race and funding are closely intertwined in the history and current reality of American education. Racist policies and practices have systematically denied people of color access to quality education and educational resources, while privileging white students and schools.
• - Race and funding also interact with other factors, such as poverty, geography, politics, and culture, to create complex patterns of educational opportunity and outcomes across different groups and communities.
• - Race and funding are not only matters of equity and justice, but also of economic and social development. Research shows that investing in education for all students, especially those who have been historically underserved, can yield significant benefits for individuals and society, such as higher incomes, lower crime rates, better health outcomes, and stronger civic engagement.
• - Some sources that discuss race and funding are:
•   - [History and Evolution of Public Education in the US](https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED606970.pdf)
•   - [K-12 Education Spending in 2020](https://reason.org/commentary/k-12-education-spending-spotlight/)
•   - [Similarities and differences between urban, suburban and rural communities](https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2018/05/22/what-unites-and-divides-urban-suburban-and-rural-communities/)

Bing, 7/16/2023

(1) Causes and Consequences of Separate and Unequal Neighborhoods | Urban .... https://www.urban.org/racial-equity-analytics-lab/structural-racism-explainer-collection/causes-and-consequences-separate-and-unequal-neighborhoods.

(2) After a half-century of federal oversight, segregated ... - ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/US/half-century-federal-oversight-segregated-neighborhoods-pervasive-abc/story?id=82678035.

(3) Similarities and differences between urban, suburban and rural .... https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2018/05/22/what-unites-and-divides-urban-suburban-and-rural-communities/.

(4) Racial Disparities in Home Appreciation - Center for American Progress. https://www.americanprogress.org/article/racial-disparities-home-appreciation/.

School Funding Sources

School funding comes from a mix of federal, state, and local sources. The share of each source varies by state and over time. According to the Urban Institute², in 2018, the average breakdown of school funding sources was:

• - Local: 45%
• - State: 47%
• - Federal: 8%

School Funding Levels

School funding levels have generally increased since the 1990s, but they vary widely by state and district. According to the Reason Foundation⁷, nationwide, inflation-adjusted per-pupil K-12 revenues grew by **25%**—or by **$3,211** per student—between **2002** and **2020**. During this time, per-pupil revenues increased in all but one state (North Carolina). Sixteen states, plus D.C., increased their education funding by **30%** or more during this time period.

The chart below shows the trend of per-pupil revenues for some selected states from **2002** to **2020**.


School Funding Progressivity

School funding progressivity measures how much more is spent on educating low-income students relative to nonpoor students. A ratio of **1.0** means funding is equal for poor and nonpoor students; a number above **1.0** means funding is progressive; a number below **1.0** means funding is regressive. An estimate of **1.1**, for example, would imply that on average poor students attend districts that receive **10 percent** more in per-student funding than the districts nonpoor students attend.

According to the Urban Institute², overall, school district funding is about as progressive today, on average, as it was in **1995**. In most states, progressivity has changed only slightly. More states experienced an increase in progressivity than a decrease.

The map below shows the progressivity ratio for each state in **2018**.


School Funding Challenges

Despite the overall growth in school funding, many states and districts face challenges in providing adequate and equitable education for their students. Some of these challenges include:

• - The impact of the Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic on state and local revenues and spending priorities.
• - The rising costs of employee benefits, such as pensions and health care, which consume a large share of education budgets and crowd out other spending.
• - The long-term debt obligations of school districts, which limit their fiscal flexibility and ability to invest in capital projects.
• - The persistent disparities in funding across districts within states, which reflect differences in property wealth, tax effort, student needs, and state aid formulas.
• - The lack of transparency and accountability in school finance data, which makes it difficult to track how funds are raised and spent and what outcomes they produce.

Bing, 7/16/2023

(1) How Has Education Funding Changed Over Time? - Urban Institute. https://apps.urban.org/features/education-funding-trends/.

(2) K-12 Education Spending in 2020 - Reason Foundation. https://reason.org/commentary/k-12-education-spending-spotlight/.

(3) History and Evolution of Public Education in the US. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED606970.pdf.

(4) The Costs of Cutting School Spending - Education Next. https://www.educationnext.org/costs-cutting-school-spending-lessons-from-great-recession/.

(5) Financing California’s Public Schools - Public Policy Institute of .... https://www.ppic.org/publication/financing-californias-public-schools/.

(6) A Punishing Decade for School Funding | Center on Budget and Policy .... https://www.cbpp.org/research/state-budget-and-tax/a-punishing-decade-for-school-funding.

(7) K-12 Education Spending in 2020 - Reason Foundation. https://bing.com/search?q=k12+school+funding+trends.

(8) Fiscal 2022 K-12 spending explained in 6 charts | K-12 Dive. https://www.k12dive.com/news/fiscal-2022-k-12-spending-explained-in-6-charts/620378/.

(9) K-12 Funding Trends At-a-Glance: Data for Statewide and All 132 School .... https://thecommonwealthinstitute.org/research/k-12-funding-trends-at-a-glance-data-for-statewide-and-all-132-school-divisions-2021-2022/.

(10) Dollars and Data: A Look at K-12 Education Funding in Colorado. https://commonsenseinstituteco.org/k-12-education-funding/.

Here is a chart of the history of spending on education by the US since 1960, based on the data from the National Center for Education Statistics¹.

The chart shows the total and current expenditures per pupil in public elementary and secondary schools, in unadjusted dollars and constant 2018-19 dollars. The current expenditures include instruction, support services, food services, and enterprise operations, but exclude capital outlay, interest on debt, and programs outside of public elementary and secondary education. The total expenditures include current expenditures plus capital outlay and interest on debt.

Some observations from the chart are:

• - The unadjusted spending per pupil has increased steadily over time, from $64 in 1960 to $13,187 in 2017.
• - The constant spending per pupil has also increased over time, but at a slower rate and with some fluctuations. It rose from $850 in 1960 to $12,654 in 2017, with a peak of $13,119 in 2009.
• - The gap between the total and current expenditures per pupil has widened over time, indicating that a larger share of spending has gone to capital outlay and interest on debt. In 1960, the gap was $11 in unadjusted dollars and $141 in constant dollars; in 2017, it was $533 in unadjusted dollars and $1,000 in constant dollars.

Some sources that discuss the history of spending on education by the US are:

Bing, 7/16/2023

(1) Federal funds for education and research 1970-2021 | Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/184069/federal-funds-for-education-and-research/.

(2) Total and current expenditures per pupil in public elementary and .... https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d19/tables/dt19_236.55.asp.

(3) The 1960s Education: Overview | Encyclopedia.com. https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences/culture-magazines/1960s-education-overview.

(4) Inflation-Adjusted K-12 Education Spending Per Student Has Increased By .... https://reason.org/commentary/inflation-adjusted-k-12-education-spending-per-student-has-increased-by-280-percent-since-1960/.

(5) US Government 20th Century Spending History with Charts - a www .... https://www.usgovernmentspending.com/past_spending.

Here is a line chart of the history of spending on education by the US since 1960, based on the data from the National Center for Education Statistics¹.

The chart shows the total and current expenditures per pupil in public elementary and secondary schools, in unadjusted dollars and constant 2018-19 dollars. The current expenditures include instruction, support services, food services, and enterprise operations, but exclude capital outlay, interest on debt, and programs outside of public elementary and secondary education. The total expenditures include current expenditures plus capital outlay and interest on debt.

Some observations from the chart are:

• - The unadjusted spending per pupil has increased steadily over time, from $64 in 1960 to $13,187 in 2017.
• - The constant spending per pupil has also increased over time, but at a slower rate and with some fluctuations. It rose from $850 in 1960 to $12,654 in 2017, with a peak of $13,119 in 2009.
• - The gap between the total and current expenditures per pupil has widened over time, indicating that a larger share of spending has gone to capital outlay and interest on debt. In 1960, the gap was $11 in unadjusted dollars and $141 in constant dollars; in 2017, it was $533 in unadjusted dollars and $1,000 in constant dollars.

As you can see, spending on education in the US has increased steadily since 1960. In 2020, the US spent \$634.2 billion on education, which was 6.1% of GDP.

Here is a breakdown of the spending by decade:

• * 1960s: \$23.4 billion (3.7% of GDP)
• * 1970s: \$40.3 billion (4.8% of GDP)
• * 1980s: \$62.5 billion (5.9% of GDP)
• * 1990s: \$101.4 billion (6.5% of GDP)
• * 2000s: \$225.6 billion (6.6% of GDP)
• * 2010s: \$414.2 billion (6.1% of GDP)
• * 2020s: \$634.2 billion (6.1% of GDP)

The increase in education spending over the past few decades can be attributed to a number of factors, including:

• * The increasing number of students enrolled in public schools
• * The rising cost of education
• * The increasing demand for educational services

The future of education spending is uncertain. However, the trends that have emerged over the past few decades suggest that spending on education will continue to increase in the future.

Some sources that discuss the history of spending on education by the US are:

Bing, 7/16/2023

(1) Federal funds for education and research 1970-2021 | Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/184069/federal-funds-for-education-and-research/.

(2) Total and current expenditures per pupil in public elementary and .... https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d19/tables/dt19_236.55.asp.

(3) The 1960s Education: Overview | Encyclopedia.com. https://www.encyclopedia.com/social-sciences/culture-magazines/1960s-education-overview.

(4) Inflation-Adjusted K-12 Education Spending Per Student Has Increased By .... https://reason.org/commentary/inflation-adjusted-k-12-education-spending-per-student-has-increased-by-280-percent-since-1960/.

(5) US Government 20th Century Spending History with Charts - a www .... https://www.usgovernmentspending.com/past_spending.