Education formula helps rich schools get richer

Lynn Moore:

She wakes up in her suburban home, has breakfast and jumps into her mom's car for a ride to school each morning.

He struggles to rouse himself off a bed of blankets on the floor, grabs the same clothes he wore yesterday and, with an empty stomach, starts his walk to school.

When she sits in her seat in her third-grade classroom, she brings a wealth of life experiences: soccer games and ballet; spring breaks in Florida; summers at a cottage on the lake; weekends spent at the zoo or museum.

He brings experiences, too: baby-sitting for his siblings; worrying about whether this will be the night the landlord kicks his family out; dreading the summer when he can't rely on regular meals like the ones his school provides.
Two children. Two different worlds.

And two entirely different schools. Hers gets more than $12,000 per student in funding. His gets $5,000 per student less.

This is a powerful issue. Incoming Madison Superintendent Dan Nerad's former district, Green Bay spends $11,269 per student while Madison spends $13,201 according to a recent Isthmus article. More here.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at July 2, 2008 11:15 AM
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