Who really gets the -Education dollars?

[Danno 1,228]

I saw this in the local paper at College today, it is more evidence that Poor children are performing up to par due to lack of funding... in fact you can see if any area is getting ripped off, it is the Suburbs.

In some cases the difference is nearly 300%.

Bottom line, lack of funds is not the problem (though it's the first go-to excuse).

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Report cites disparity in CMS spending

Per-pupil outlay lowest in big suburban schools, highest at small, high-poverty sites.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/topstorie...ry/1206169.html

By Ann Doss Helms

ahelms@charlotteobserver.com

Posted: Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2010

Per-pupil spending is highest in Charlotte-Mecklenburg's small, high-poverty schools and lowest in large suburban ones, a report released Tuesday shows.

The school board heard a staff report designed to gauge whether students in high-poverty schools are getting an equal shot at a good education. The report looks at such measures as extracurricular activities, faculty credentials, technology and library books.

Following up on a discussion at a weekend retreat, many said they need to figure out a better way of measuring results.

"We're meeting the standards on so many of these issues, yet we're still not meeting the student achievement goals," said board member Rhonda Lennon. "It doesn't seem to matter how many widgets and gidgets and gadgets are in the school. It matters what we're doing with the students."

The 2010 report, which is posted on the district's Web site, will provide information for parents who are trying to choose 2010-11 assignments. It lists details on all schools, regardless of poverty level.

The report indicates CMS is meeting most of its goals and making progress toward the others. However, the higher-poverty schools remain less likely to offer a full slate of activities, such as chess, Odyssey of the Mind or Battle of the Books.

They also have teachers with lower average time on the job and fewer advanced degrees, and have significantly fewer teachers with National Board Certification.

Superintendent Peter Gorman says research shows teacher experience and advanced degrees have little effect on student achievement, but CMS students with board-certified teachers outperform peers with teachers who don't hold that credential.

Board member Richard McElrath repeated his call for Gorman to assign the most effective teachers to the neediest schools: "Like any other public servant, you've got to go where the public needs you most."

And member Tom Tate said that since CMS has never provided the high-poverty schools an equal level of experienced teachers with advanced degrees, he's not convinced that isn't part of the problem. Gorman said next month he'll present Harvard University research on CMS students that will provide more detail on what makes a difference.

The report breaks down per-pupil spending for 2008-09. (Because the current year isn't over, those numbers aren't in yet).

The average was $6,156 per elementary student, $5,624 per middle-school student and $5,836 per high-school student. The elementary figures include some schools that have Bright Beginnings prekindergarten classes; CMS spends an average of $8,000 per child at its pre-K centers.

Many small, high-poverty schools were thousands above average - almost $12,500 at the alternative Hawthorne High and almost $11,000 at Shamrock Elementary.

The reasons are many: CMS allots more teachers based on higher poverty levels, and provides extra pay and other incentives at some schools where it is trying to boost achievement.

Schools where at least 75 percent of kids are poor get extra federal Title I money.

Families with choices tend to seek higher-performing schools, often in the suburbs, where poverty is much lower. Many of those schools are so large they spill into classroom trailers, spreading the basic costs of operating a school among more students.

Community House, a south suburban middle school with almost 1,500 students, had the lowest per-pupil cost, under $4,300.

Lennon and Kaye McGarry said CMS should start looking at other factors that influence student success, including absenteeism and parent involvement.

"It's clearly not the dollars," Lennon said.

Edited January 28, 2010 by Danno

[FortLaudy 10]

Bottom line, lack of funds is not the problem (though it's the first go-to excuse).

"It's clearly not the dollars," Lennon said.[/b]

[Ali G. 37]

County with the largest ghetto in the area Prince Georges, MD. $13K is allocated per student.

Highest grossing household per county in the US: Loudon, VA. ~$9.5K per student is allocated.

One guess which county's students severely outdo that of the other. Hint: They are allocated much less per student.

The reality is that neither education nor abiding by the law is a priority in numerous communities. As discussed before, socioeconomics alone does not fly either as similar communities abroad neither share the same crime or dropout rate.

Edited January 28, 2010 by Booyah

[Niels Bohr 72]

Public policy in education specialist in the thread? Which teacher would want to teach a large class without getting paid more?