But seriously, a lot of this sounds like what I hear children say at Toys R Us, "if you really love me, you'll spend money on me." Most of the studies show that more money does not translate to better graduation rates; especially that poor school performance generally parallels an unstable home. That can't be fixed with levy dollars. But, the district administrators may be right about one thing. It is fair that all of our kids get the same financial support. So one would have to concede that giving the highest levy districts a cut to match the lowest is just as equitable as giving the lowest levy districts a boost to match the highest; And, because kids are our future and this is all an "investment" in them, charter and private schools deserve equal funding, as well.
Oh, and hold-off on your, "you are obviously a racists, gadfly" retort. Consider this nugget from the Department of Education (ed.gov),
"More money is spent in districts with the highest percentages of minority students compared to districts with the lowest percentages of minority students. Although minority students in poverty are often viewed as those least served by current systems of public education funding, these findings suggest that while inequalities may remain for students in poverty, they do not appear to be driven by minority status."
Do you really want to help our kids? We need to bring more male teachers into the classroom. Right now, only 10% of grade school teachers are men. In fact, because the absence of a male role model is so often cited as a problem for at-risk children today, this disparity seems like a greater priority and one, when addressed, more likely to make a long-term difference in the student's life and tighten the opportunity gap.
