蜜桃传媒

Funding for public schools across the South continues to lag far behind the rest of the nation, a failure that is having an outsized impact on students of color听and students living in or near poverty, according to a new study听by (ELC)听and the Southern Poverty Law Center.听

The report 鈥� Inequity听in School听Funding: Southern States Must Prioritize Fair Public School Spending 鈥� examines听school funding听in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas,听based on criteria established by ELC鈥檚 national听听report,听an annual听state-by-state听analysis of听public school funding.听The report ranks and grades each state based on three key measures:听funding level, funding distribution and funding effort.

鈥淲e are currently in a听place where partisan politics, not data or evidenced-based practices, are听driving听school policy,鈥� said听Bacardi Jackson, interim deputy legal director for the 蜜桃传媒鈥檚 Children鈥檚 Rights Practice Group.听鈥淭hese efforts are听steeped in white supremacy听and seek to undermine public schools.鈥澨�

The听impact of unfair school funding听in the听South听is听deeply rooted听in the region鈥檚听history of听racial segregation,听which听continues to influence听education politics and policymaking and can be seen in the proliferation of private school vouchers and resistance to culturally responsive and inclusive teaching.听This history means that听Black and Latinx students听and those living in or near poverty 鈥� groups that are overrepresented in public schools throughout the听South 鈥� are听more likely to bear the听consequences of听poorly听resourced听public听schools.

The report found that the听eight Southern states examined have听鈥渨oefully insufficient鈥澨齭chool funding levels,听and most听of them听fail to equitably distribute additional funds to high-poverty school听districts.

鈥淪outhern states have a long history of neglecting public education, depriving students 鈥� especially students of color and those from low-income families 鈥� of the opportunities that would help them succeed in school and life,鈥� said Danielle Farrie, who is the ELC research director and the report鈥檚 author. 鈥淚t is past time for lawmakers in these states to move beyond political听distractions and prioritize investments in public education.鈥澨�

When Southern schools are compared to those in other states, the report听found that:

• All eight states score in the bottom third for school funding. Alabama, Tennessee, Florida and Mississippi scored in the bottom 10,听all听spending听more than $3,000听(and for Florida听and Mississippi, more than $4,000)听less per child each year than听the national average.
  听
• Alabama, Florida and Texas have regressive funding practices, meaning high-poverty school districts receive less funding than low-poverty districts.听On average, high-poverty districts in Florida and Alabama receive about $1,500 less than low-poverty districts.
  听
• Georgia听barely听meets the report鈥檚 conservative definition of progressive funding, with high-poverty districts receiving, on average, only听8% higher per-pupil funding than low-poverty districts.
  听
• Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee听have听鈥渇lat鈥� funding distributions that听disadvantage students in high-poverty districts because they do not provide additional resources听to听help听close persistent economic and racial听achievement gaps.听
  听
• All eight states reduced their effort to fund public schools in the last decade, resulting in a combined loss of $189 billion in state and local revenue. Florida, Georgia and Alabama all lost out on more than $2,000 per pupil by allowing school revenue to lag behind economic growth.

The report defines fair funding as 鈥渢he funding needed in each state to provide qualified teachers, support staff, programs, services and other resources essential for all students to have a meaningful opportunity to achieve the state鈥檚 academic standards and graduate high school prepared for citizenship, postsecondary education and the workforce.鈥�

Photo Illustration by 蜜桃传媒