Why do many school districts fail to meet the needs of their students? One commonly cited response is our country’s disparate school funding system: because most districts rely heavily on local property tax for funding, schools in poor districts are often left with fewer resources than schools in wealthier areas. Even though school funding issues play out on a local level, in recent decades, it’s risen to the forefront of national issues. This past year, for the tenth year in a row, a national Gallup poll found that Americans view lack of financial support as the largest problem facing America’s schools.
But can more money really fix America’s struggling, poor schools? That is exactly what NPR’s Cory Turner and a team of over 20 NPR member-station reporters wanted to find out. After six months of investigating, Turner and his team published a series of stories digging into school funding disparities from Chicago to Sumter County, Alabama. ProPublica education reporter Annie Waldman spoke with Turner to learn more about their investigation.
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Do we really want to fully integrate our society?
Do we want rich people living next door to poor people?
Do we want the kids of rich people attending the same schools that poor kids attend?
Do we want to create a classless society?
Wouldn’t that mean that rich people would have less wealth and poor people would have more wealth?
Wouldn’t it mean that rich people and poor people would have the same access to education, health care, and housing?
Wouldn’t rich kids and poor kids have to fight alongside one another in war?
Just how far down this socialist road are we willing to go?