Opinion: Money would help school the poor

Public schools face special challenges in educating poor, minority students. The population often comes to school with problems typical of a home-life mired in poverty, and are simply less prepared to learn than their rich, suburban counterparts. You would think these added troubles would translate into additional resources, but a new education funding study indicates just the opposite. In a majority of states, school districts charged with teaching low-income students are actually given less money per student, in some cases thousands of dollars less.

As we demand more accountability from schools -- testing to ensure students are getting a year's worth of knowledge in a year's time -- maybe we should also be demanding that legislatures across the country equalize the starting line. The very schools condemned by sanctimonious lawmakers as having failed their students are being starved for money by school funding formulas tied to local tax revenues.

New York is the worst offender. According to the study by the Education Trust, a nonprofit group which represents the interests of poor, urban schools, New York spends $2,152 more per student in low-poverty districts than in those where poverty is highest. Illinois isn't far behind with a per-student disparity of $2,060. That means, each classroom of 25 students in a pricey New York suburb will receive $53,800 more in state and local funds than the equivalent class in Harlem.

Florida actually does a good job on this score. Here, the average state and local per-student expenditure for low-poverty districts is $5,702, while those with a high rate of poverty receive $5,656. Of course, this doesn't include the bonus funds given to schools graded an "A" under the governor's A+

program. That's an extra $100 per student flowing in large measure to the schools with the most advantaged student populations.

Money won't solve every problem associated with the achievement gap between rich and poor, but we know without it little will change.

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