After persistent “savage inequalities” in school funding, some experts say the spending gaps are being closed.
The writer and educator Jonathan Kozol exposed what he called “savage inequalities” in U.S. education in the 1980s. Urban schools were overcrowded and understaffed, he said,His vivid disclosures still resonate in school debates. Many still assume that less is spent on learning for low-income children than for affluent ones.
“Think Again. Is education funding in America still unequal?” written for the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a nonprofit think tank where Tyner is the national research director.It may be too optimistic to say, as Tyner does, that “America’s shamefully persistent inequities in school funding are finally a thing of the past.” The future remains uncertain. But several experts acknowledge that the shrinking of the funding gap is real.
Were students from traditionally disadvantaged backgrounds attending poorly funded schools? Not anymore. Did eliminating the socioeconomic status gaps mean racial/ethnic funding gaps disappeared, too? Mostly, but a few states still had funding gaps by race. Did equal funding mean equitable resources for students? “Not necessarily. Ensuring access to some resources, such as high-quality teachers, costs more in schools that serve more disadvantaged student populations.
Kozol, now 87, is still writing and speaking about inequalities, but there are many indications that the concern he inspired about gaps has led local, state and federal officials to make significant improvements.
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