A new report from the Alliance for Quality Education and the Public Policy and Education Fund concluded that children from New York State’s poor districts saw state funding for schools get worse.
Titled “No Appetite to Educate: Stacking the Deck Against Children in Poverty,” the report reveals that the gap between New York State’s 100 wealthiest school districts and the 100 poorest school districts widened to $9,796 per pupils, a record-setting level. The report also states that the gap in funding correlates with the gap in graduation rates, with students in wealthy districts graduating at a 92 percent rate, whereas the rate is 66 percent for students in poor districts.
“The inequities between rich and poor schools are shocking and distressing,” said Billy Easton, executive director of the Alliance for Quality Education, in a statement. “Students in high-need districts are being deprived of things we know help students to learn, such as smaller classes sizes, arts and music, school technology and extracurricular activities.”
The report pins some of the blame on New York State Gov. Andrew Cuomo. According to the report, the gap since Cuomo took office in 2011 would amount to $4.9 million in a school of 500 students. The Alliance for Quality Education and Public Policy and Education Fund revealed that according to data from the state education departments, New York State schools are owed $4.4 billion in foundation aid, which was funding created because of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit. In that lawsuit, the state Court of Appeals ruled the New York State violated students’ constitutional right to a basic education.
Fully funding the Foundation Aid formula, according to the report, would close the gap by $2,824 per pupil.
“It’s heartbreaking that a generation of students is being robbed of so many opportunities,” stated Easton. “In 2016, we must fund schools fully. New York’s students can no longer wait. This can be done with small income tax hike on millionaires. Clearly in New York State there is a need to adequately fund our schools and an appetite to tax millionaires in order to do it.”
“The teachers and principals are paying out of pocket for a lot of things, like school supplies and school events,” added Beverly Usher, a Rochester City School District grandparent, in a statement. “I know they have big hearts, but they cannot pay for extra reading teachers and after school programs out of pocket. We need the funding.”
The New York State Assembly recently pushed for a tax on millionaires to fund schools, but Cuomo put the kibosh on that idea, saying there was “no reason” to tax millionaires. According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, a “sustained” 10 percent increase in funding would result in an 11 percent increase in graduation rates.