Not shocking at all
The Education Law Center just released an analysis that shows:
"Under Governor Chris Christie, funding gaps between school districts with the highest and lowest...
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"Under Governor Chris Christie, funding gaps between school districts with the highest and lowest...
See More
Under
Governor Chris Christie, funding gaps between school districts with the
highest and lowest student poverty rates continue to grow, increasing
four-fold to a staggering $3,875 per pupil since 2008-09. This widening
gap is caused by two factors: growth in the population of poor or
“at-risk” stud...
edlawcenter.org
Comments
Walter Fields The
challenge to our school finance system is the structural impediments
given the reliance on local property taxes. It's why we have an income
tax that was a remedy in the 1976 Robinson v. Cahill decision. Tinkering
with the funding formula will not result
in equity. And the idea that urban school districts are receiving too
great a share doesn't wash against the history of our cities being
denied investments to raise the quality of life. These disparities are
rooted in housing segregation as well and the balkanization of the state
into far too many local school districts. The state Supreme Court in
Robinson and the Abbott litigation have been clear on the issues of
'municipal overburden.' We need a statewide tax that alleviates the
reliance on local property taxes. I have always advocated taxing clothes
(a minimal tax) and earmarking revenues for public education. Shoppers
in the northern NJ and southern NJ are not going to shop in New York
City or Philly to avoid a tax on clothes given the cost of fuel, tolls
and parking to shop in those cities. Whatever the source, the issue of
funding equity is tied up with the revenue source and housing
segregation.
Jeffrey Bennett Additionally,
by the Education Law Center's OWN STANDARD New Jersey puts the second
highest percentage of state GDP into education of any state (ie, Tax
Effort).
NJ puts 4.6% of state GDP into education, the second highest in the US after Vermont. ...See More
NJ puts 4.6% of state GDP into education, the second highest in the US after Vermont. ...See More
Walter Fields In
addition. from the Black Parents Workshop perspective, we are not
inclined to jump on the "give us more" bandwagon when the South
Orange-Maplewood School District has not used the resources it has had
in the past to address the achievement gap. All this district has done with the tax dollars of Black parents is discriminate against Black children. And that occurred Jeffrey Bennett
while you were on the Board. So, your argument for more falls upon
deaf ears. In fact, I oppose additional aid unless funds were earmarked
to address the achievement gap and the hiring of Black teachers.
Madhu Pai Walter Fields,
just curious as to what you are using as data points. There is a lot
of work still to be done, but we have seen steady benefits of
re-allocation of funding toward need e.g. the additional
interventionists and resources at SB have shown a
much larger student growth percentage at this school vs. all other
elementary schools. Given this school's majority black student
population, I would say this directly counteracts your rather broad
assertion. District data would suggest (though we need to dig into this
more) that the driving factor in the achievement gap is economic
disadvantage and years in district, not race (though it happens that, in
our district, there is racial disparity among economically
disadvantaged students). The most devastating achievement gap we have
in the district is SPED - outranks race by quite a margin - which
over-indexes for both black students and boys. Boys also perform worse
than girls along most measures in gen ed. The achievement gap issues we
have are quite complex for generalities and must be handled with
thoughtfulness and rigor.
Walter Fields Your
response makes absolutely no sense. Race is THE driving factor. We
have had countless tales of Black students from middle class families in
this district that have been subjected to discriminatory practices. It
was 'racial disparities' that caused the
district to come under investigation by the US Department of Education
Office of Civil Rights. Are you seriously trying to suggest that race is
not THE factor. It was the factor that compelled two of the nation's
foremost civil rights litigation organizations to file complaints
against the district. And, it is race that will cause the district to
face litigation in the not too distant future. To suggest race is not
driving the achievement gap is bullshit. And, it's why the only thing
that will change this district is for it to face judicial sanctions or
come under the control of a special state master - both of which are
options on the table.
Madhu Pai Again,
I'm just asking for your data. Not anecdotes or assertions but data.
The OCR has a valid job to do, to suss out districts that seem to have
disparate achievement numbers and try to get some answers. We were one
of many districts cited as having
disparate numbers, though if you read the OCR resolution it is clear
that the OCR acknowledges the district's efforts to raise the
achievement of minority students. Thus, we entered into a resolution
agreement with them to dig into data and better understand why these
disparities were happening despite the well intentions (as cited by the
OCR) of the district. It is after digging into the data (a job still
left somewhat undone due to the district's prior lack of adequate data
collection as well as the reliance of the consultant to rely more
heavily on qualitative vs. quantitative methods of analysis) that we
find the points I made above. These facts lend a different lens to the
sweeping assertions you are making. We all know that race cannot be
discounted as factor but if you have data points that proves out it is
THE factor contributing to the achievement gap (and not some combo of
socio-economics, gender, classification, race and time spent in
district), I'm happy to hear them out and dig further into them. We
have a head of analytics now in district - this is a perfect opportunity
to truly understand the issues that ail us.
Madhu Pai Also,
to help lend some perspective on the teaching staff - our teaching
staff is approximately 19% teachers of color (using the numbers in the
Sage report, which admittedly are 1.5 years old). This is slightly
higher than the national average of teachers of color. There are simply
not enough teachers of color and finding teachers who are men of color
is like looking for a unicorn. Not that we are not trying...
Walter Fields The
OCR Resolution Agreement is not an insurance policy. You are sadly
mistaken and completely ill-informed or just patently ignorant if you
believe the district has addressed the racial achievement gap. Your
assertion is akin to the defendants in Brown
v. Board of Education stating in 1955 that the district had complied
with the Court's mandate in the 1954 decision. If you don't think RACE
is the factor in driving the achievement gap, then show me the white
student disparities that show up in the state performance reports for
college enrollment post-high school. And to suggest that we should be
happy because 19% of the teachers are "of color" is an insult in a
district where Blacks comprise about 44% of the student population. You
want data. Read the ACLU/UCLA Civil Rights complaint and the OCR data. I
guess everyone is just imagining the racial disparities. This is the
worse sort of low grade fever bigotry Blacks have to face in this
district and nation. There are more than enough teachers of color. YOU
are one of the enablers of the discrimination that persists in the
district. I suggest you keep posting and commenting, because it's all
discoverable. And, hire counsel because you will need it. This time
around there is going to be individual accountability for actions on
this Board.
Walter Fields Intent
doesn't matter. You need to consult your legal counsel. Civil rights
laws are unconcerned with intent. Intent is irrelevant except for the
fact that a 20 year period of discriminatory behavior shows intent. It's
your flawed analysis that makes the district subject to litigation.
Elissa Elliott Malespina BTW Madhu Pai
your 19% number for teachers of color in the district is wrong. Our
district does not break out data to differentiate between a teacher who
is in direct contact of students on a daily basis vs a secretary or
other district employee. So we have no
way of knowing exactly how many of the 19% are teachers but I can tell
you it is not close to 19%. So please stop using that statistic to try
to say we are doing ok in that. I know many men of color or "unicorns"
as you called them which is (insulting in my opinion) who have applied
for positions and never gotten a call back. I also know other "unicorns"
who work in district and are passed over for promotions, are retaliated
against by administration for speaking out etc. So while you may be
trying ...you are not doing a great job and the "unicorns" that are here
helping to give you that statistic you are touting, a number are
looking to get out because of how they are treated in district.
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