Why Is There A $23 Billion Dollar Disparity in Public Education?

07Mar
by Leticia Chavez-Garcia

Are “white” schools getting extra funding? Lots more apparently, according to a report by edbuild.org. Edbuild reports that there are 21 states, including California, that have districts which receive more funding for predominantly white students. In a recently published study, researchers have identified a huge problem. High poverty districts serving mostly students of color receive an average of $1,600 less per students than the national average. Additionally, school districts that are predominantly white and poor only receive about $130 less. That’s pretty jarring.

How is this happening? Easy, geography. For example, in California, the way that our districts have been drawn is such that the neighborhoods with the high property tax rates are predominantly white. That means that the schools are mostly white and the money pouring in through property taxes is greater. Thus, if you reside in a community where homes are valued at half a million higher, the schools probably receive more funding per student than the community where the homes are valued at $250K or less.

That said, we have the added problem that our property tax funding mechanism has been exacerbated by the passage of Proposition 13 some 40 years ago. In essence, Proposition 13 slashed the tax rate causing property tax revenue to decrease significantly. In its first year, property tax revenue used for school funding dropped by nearly 60%! This represents a financial shortfall for districts in California that they have never been able to recover from.  

There is currently an effort to repeal Proposition 13 that will appear on the ballot which would help school districts a lot in terms of increasing funding, but the disparity will still exist.  

We need to consider taxes and geography when thinking about how we can reform education to make it more equitable.

What do you think?

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Leticia Chavez-Garcia

Leticia Chavez-Garcia is a Mother, Grandmother, former Middle School Teacher, former Member of a School Board of Education and an Education Advocate for hundreds of parents and students in the Inland Empire. Having become a mother at 15, Leticia knows what it’s like to be a single mother trying to navigate the education system. Leticia received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Political Science and Public Administration from California Baptist University and a Masters’ Degree in Education Technology from Cal State Fullerton in her 30’s. Leticia has used her knowledge and experience to help hundreds of families as an Education Advocate in the Inland Empire and currently works as an Education Specialist.

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