Funding disparities hinder education

Despite the state’s contrary argument in the fair funding trial, Black, Brown, and low-income students succeed when they have access to adequate supports and resources. To us, this isn’t someone’s theory or an expert opinion; it’s our truth.

We are African-American Abington School District parents. Our children attend schools with open fields for them to exercise and play on, nurses, counselors, psychologists, and school social workers. These are basic and much needed services that every school should have for their students, especially during these challenging COVID times that put them under incredible stress.

In our district, more than 25% of the student body is Black and/ or Hispanic. When compared with districts with similar student demographics, Abington has the highest share of students that are advanced or proficient in English and math. In the fair funding trial, Dr. Pedro Noguera, an expert in school policy and Dean of the University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education, testified that our district has made consistent progress closing racial and socio-economic achievement gaps.

That’s no accident. Countless studies have shown that when students get the emotional and academic support they need, their test scores are higher and they are more likely to graduate from high school and hold family-sustaining jobs. As Dr. Rucker Johnson, renown economist and school funding expert, testified in the fair funding trial, “school resource equity is an essential investment to advance student achievement.”

Yet far too many Pennsylvania public school students, especially children of color and poor children, don’t have access to the basic tools and supports they need to succeed. Here’s what has been revealed in the trial testimony:

— 75 Kindergartners are sharing one toilet in Panther Valley — 1,200 students have two reading specialists in Greater Johnstown — 10,000+ students don’t have any math interventionists in Lancaster — 799 students have one counselor in Philadelphia — Some 5-year-olds only have a 15-minute recess in William Penn because of staff shortages

These statistics hit home. No matter whether they are in rural, suburban, or urban districts, inadequate funding hurts kids and deprives them of what they need.

Remarkably, the state argues that it’s not responsible for doing more. One of their attorneys had the audacity to ask a school superintendent “What use does a student on the McDonald’s career track have for Algebra I?” In fact, throughout the case, the state has implied that even with resources, children from families struggling to make ends meet and children of color just don’t succeed.

These ignorant and ill-informed insinuations blatantly ignore the data and underscores the magnitude of the state’s perception problem. Pennsylvania chronically underinvests in its low-income students and students of color, and it shortchanges its schools by $4.6 billion annually.

Although Pennsylvania ranks 15th in the nation in providing overall access to educational opportunities for students, it ranks at the bottom — 47th in the country — in opportunity gaps both between White and Black students and White and Hispanic students because resource and access disparities are so large. Across the region, suburban school districts where over 50% of the students are Black or Hispanic have the least to spend on instruction. Conversely, districts that are less than 10% Black or Hispanic spend the highest amount on instruction. The state underinvests over and over again and quixotically expects a different result.

Like all families, Black, Brown, and those that are struggling financially believe in their children and want them to succeed. To do that, we have to address problems in our schools like removing biases, ensuring students of color are encouraged to take challenging classes, dismantling disciplinary policies with disparate impacts, and adequately and equitably funding public schools.

Black, Brown, and low-income students fare better in well-funded schools than underfunded schools because the resources are there to provide appropriate services and interventions. But without sufficient funding, schools can’t get those resources to students.

The time is now to stop making excuses and start investing in kids. Our students and schools reflect America’s diversity; school funding should be adequate and equitable across the board. Today’s funding disparities are hindering the quality of our children’s education. Let’s do better for a better tomorrow.