Ethnic and Race Issues: School Funding

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Hello;

My name is Jason Blair and it is my pleasure to assist you some notes regarding school funding in America. By way of introduction, I am a Professor of Education in Arizona. I hope that these notes will go a long way towards supplementing your own ideas as you complete this assignment.

1. What funding inequalities still exist in schools today?

In brief, common sense and observations shows us that funding inequalities still exist in America's public school system. Many people point to the simple disparity between urban schools and suburban schools as proof of the reality of funding inequality. While this one example, there is perhaps even more disparity in funding between a "rural" school and a "city" school. You see, many urban schools, while lacking in funding, are noticed by corporations and private donors in many cases. They might frequently be giving special grants by foundations or receive supplemental funding from other sources, all because the lack of funding for urban schools has been front and center in the media. We must not forget, however, that many rural schools are so underfunded that they are using textbooks more than a decade old, many classrooms are still not equipped with technology of any kind, and teacher salaries in rural schools lag far behind their "city" counterparts. As Kozol (1994) points out, this was certainly not the intent of our nation's school system from the outset. Gone are the days when minorities had to suffer the humiliation of being bussed to a different school, receiving an inferior education. Today, any student of any race is entitled to a great public school education, as long as they live in a "wealthier" district. This is due to the fact ...