Nearly a decade after the recession, school funding in many states hasn’t recovered 

(From Michigan Radio’s ‘State of Opportunity’)

Nearly 10 years after the recession, school funding is still way down in some states. That’s according to a new report released (recently) by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

According to the report, 35 states provided less overall state funding per student in the 2014 school year than in the 2008 school year, before the recession took hold. In 27 states, local funding per student fell over the same period.
“Let’s be clear, state level K-12 cuts have large consequences for local school districts,” CBPP state fiscal research director Michael Leachman said in a briefing. “These consequences are real and damaging because local schools are generally unable to make up for deep cuts in state funds.”

Schools rely on states for nearly half of their funding. And when they receive less money, school districts have to scale back the educational services they provide, raise more local tax revenue to cover the gap, or both, Leachman says.

“When states cut funding, local school districts end up with less, and that means cuts. Layoffs, shorter school years, and bigger class sizes for example,” he said.

According to CBPP, a combination of factors have led to states’ large K-12 cuts, including weak revenues, rising costs, recent tax cuts, and relying on spending cuts to close budget shortfalls after the recession hit.

Read and listen to the full report here: http://stateofopportunity.michiganradio.org/post/nearly-decade-after-recession-school-funding-many-states-hasnt-recovered

Public opinion about improving achievement among poor, minority students 

A study in Educational Researcher explores Americans’ opinions about differences in test scores between poor and wealthy students and white and minority students.

The issue: Gaps in student achievement often fit familiar patterns. Children from wealthy families generally perform better on tests than students from poorer families; white students tend to do better than black or Hispanic students.

The differences can be stark. Researchers have found a high correlation between poverty and race in America. Most black and Hispanic students attend schools where the majority of other students are black and Hispanic, according to a 2012 study in the peer-reviewed journal Education Policy Analysis Archives. These schools often have fewer resources than schools where most students are white.

Such disparities are a common topic of political discourse. But policymakers often do not ask how the public feels about the problem — even though public opinion, which shapes lawmakers’ priorities, has policy implications.

Read the full article here including links to the study and its findings: http://journalistsresource.org/studies/society/education/achievement-gap-student-race-income-research

…until next time, keep reading, sharing, discussing, learning!