Racial Bias in Pennsylvania's Funding of Public Schools

My analysis of enrollment, demographics, and basic education funding of Pennsylvania’s 501 public school districts revealed dramatically higher per-student funding in districts with predominantly white populations compared to economically similar districts with more racial diversity.

Media coverage:

Article on my research in The Atlantic
Initial publication in The Philadelphia Public School Notebook and POWER web site
Selected further coverage in Philadelphia Magazine and The Notebook
Video of my 10-minute testimony to the Pennsylvania Basic Education Funding Commission (skip to 141:00)
Public radio WHYY coverage of my analysis of Governor's proposed funding

1 comment:

ZeevOctober 11, 2015 at 4:35 PM
This chart seems to show only the (state) Basic Education Funding (BEF) component of the per-student spending. Yet the majority of education expenditures in Pennsylvania come from local sources, plus there is a significant federal component.

So what most people care about is the TOTAL per-student spending in districts, rather than how one component plays out. Is there a similar correlation in the total spending, or does the BEF -- correctly! -- compensate for lower local resources so the total actually comes much better balanced?