Discuss the results of the way public education is funded in the United States. Why does the chapter refer to this funding as "upside down"?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Feedback: Public schools receive about 10% of their funds from the federal government, about 45% from the state (depending on the allocation within each state), and 45% from local taxes. Schools are funded unequally, with public schools being more successful in educating children in middle-class communities but often failing children in poor neighborhoods. The top-spending states invest more than twice the amount per pupil than those states spending the least. The tradition of funding public schools primarily through local property taxes is discriminatory because rich school districts can spend more than poor ones on each student and at a lower tax rate. Financing of public education is upside down. The schools and students who need the most help receive the least, whereas those with advantages are advantaged all the more. Further, money spent on schools serving low-income students was more likely used to fund basic repairs, whereas schools in more affluent districts were more likely to add science labs, technology, or other new programs. As President Obama said, "For low income students, the schools are made less decrepit; for wealthier students, they are made more enriching."