Assignment 16 - Beppy Badgett - Final Speech

Public education. Something all of us in this room are taking advantage of. But many of us haven’t taken a step back to look at how fortunate we really are.

At first glance the public education system is fairly standard with in the united states, but when we look deeper is becomes apparent that the system is fundamentally inequitable. Traditionally poor states spend less money on education, so students start with an immediate disadvantage. The Educational Trust estimated schools serving low income students spend on average $1,000 less per student than those educating students of higher income. This disparity combined with the lack of support most of these low-income students receive at home, gives these children less than adequate resources needed to succeed, leaving them in a worse place if and when they graduate, meaning they will work lower paying jobs, leading to a continued lack of economic stimulation, leaving the state in poverty, and when these former students have kids the cycle will start over again. The cyclical nature of funding in the education system is the exact reason this problem needs to be addressed, to help the over 25 million students from low income schools succeed. 

Current public school education is funded by a combination of local income tax and Title 1 funds. While the government regulated Title 1 funds cater towards low income areas, they make up less than 10% of a schools funding. They help, but do not do enough to counter the considerable gap in funds. This is because a majority of public school funding comes from local property tax. An inherent characteristic of low income communities is low property value, meaning low property tax, which leads to generally less funds given to schools in that area.

There is up to a 40% gap between test scores of wealthy and low income students. This gap can be attributed to a dramatic difference in resources. Wealthier households are able to afford extra curriculars, private tutors, and family time  because parents don't need to work multiple jobs. With an increase in funding for low income schools, the extra money could be used to set up clubs and extracurriculars at no cost to the students. This would help give low income students similar opportunities to their wealthier counterparts, and these extra resources would lead to an increase in academic performance.

Critics may say that no matter how much you spend on a low income student, they will continue to underperform because of their lack of support system. Students whose parents didn't receive a complete education may be ill equipped to support their children through grade school. However, former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan states “Educators across the country understand that low-income students need extra support and resources to succeed, but in far too many places, policies for assigning teachers and allocating resources are perpetuating the problem rather than solving it,”. In this statement Duncan identifies the problem as the education system, not the home lives of low income students. The misallocation of resources, refers to the greater funds for high income students, placing those with low income further behind 

Kirabo Jackson, a labor economist specializing in education and social policy at Northwestern University states “when children are exposed to increases in school spending [...] they experience improved adult outcomes. [...] increasing school spending by about 10 percent over a child's school-age years - if that child is low income, they experienced about a 13-percentage-point increase in the likelihood of graduating from high school.” This shows that even a small increase in funding exponentially increases the likelihood for success in low-income students. With more teens graduating, they can enter the workforce with higher paying jobs, allowing them to put more money back into state and local economies, hopefully combatting lack in educational spending for future generations. 

The problem arises, how will low-income schools provide this initial funding needed to kickstart students success? 

The solution requires action on a national level. A communal pool of all educational funding collected from the states, then reallocated to schools based off average student income and test scores. Title 1 funds would be added in addition to this more equitable redistribution of educational wealth for schools requiring additional resources to enable student success.

The current system of public school funding must be changed. The cyclical nature of low income educational funding keeps students in poverty by not providing them with the necessary means to escape. Redistributing funds for public education based off need gives every student more equal opportunities to succeed, building citizens better equipped for the future. 

“More Than 40% of Low-Income Schools Don't Get a Fair Share of State and Local Funds, Department of Education Research Finds.” More Than 40% of Low-Income Schools Don't Get a Fair Share of State and Local Funds, Department of Education Research Finds | U.S. Department of Education, Us Department of Education, 30 Nov. 2011, https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/more-40-low-income-schools-dont-get-fair-share-state-and-local-funds-department-.

Shapiro, A. (2019). Spending More On Education For Low-Income Kids Improves Their Prospects As Adults. [online] Npr.org. Available at: https://www.npr.org/2019/01/18/686696835/spending-more-on-education-for-low-income-kids-improves-their-prospects-as-adult.

Taylor, Kelley, and Kelley Taylor. “Kelley Taylor.” INSIGHT Into Diversity, 25 July 2019, https://www.insightintodiversity.com/povertys-long-lasting-effects-on-students-education-and-success/.

The Growing Achievement Gap. (2018). Income inequality is exacerbating the gap between rich and poor school children.. [online] Available at: https://www.usnews.com/news/education-news/articles/2018-05-28/income-inequality-exacerbates-the-achievement-gap. 

Watson, K. (2016). Why Schools in Rich Areas Get More Funding Than Poor Areas. [online] Global Citizen. Available at: https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/cost-of-education-in-us/.