Originally Posted by Mark_Twain

I live one block from my 5th grader's school. Yet, the kids across the street from the school go to a school about 3 miles away. The reason? There is a massive apartment complex about a mile away that is completely Section 8 housing. Something like 5,000 people live in this complex. My school district redrew their boundary lines before this complex was built, in anticipation of being overrun with kids who'd need services they couldn't afford to provide. So, the next school district to the east was forced to take them in. It so happens that the next school district over has higher home values, and thus a higher funding base with which to work.

So, the real culprit here is, IMO, the school funding formula utilized in many states. That is, the local school district collects from the property taxes assessed in its own district. So, if you live in an area with multi-million dollar homes, you'll likely have a top-tier school district. If you live where I live, where the average home price is around $200,000 (which, in the Midwest, is typical middle-class), you'll have a decent school district. But if you live in the inner city, where the average home price is $40-$90,000, you'll have a shit school district.

And that's exactly what you see here & in many other states. The quick solution would be to pool the property tax money in the state capital & then disperse it equally amongst all school districts. It's absurd that Jerome lives in a district where the spending per pupil is $2,800, while Johnny gets a better education because spending is $5,600 per pupil, based entirely upon the values of homes & businesses in the radius around the school.