How to Reform Without Reforming: School District Racial Composition and Pennsylvania’s “Fair” Funding Formula

Abstract

In the United States, researchers have documented persistent racial disparities in school funding for decades. Drawing on evidence from a recent policy change in Pennsylvania, this article contributes to research on the role of state governments in limiting or expanding racial disparities in K-12 education funding by examining differences in the racial composition of school districts positively and negatively impacted by a technical provision lawmakers inserted into a newly created formula for distributing state equalization aid. We find that negatively-impacted districts enroll a substantially higher number of Black and Latinx students, receive less state aid, have lower levels of state and local funding, and have lower spending levels than positively-impacted districts with otherwise similar financial needs. These findings suggest how state lawmakers can exacerbate racial inequities when pursuing reforms ostensibly focused on equity, and these results have implications for both policymakers and educational leaders focused on racial justice.

Separate Remains Unequal: Contemporary Segregation and Racial Disparities in School District Revenue

“…This provision resulted in less than 10% of state equalization aid actually being distributed based on current student and district needs. The school districts that were negatively impacted by this provision were disproportionately Black and Latinx (Kelly, 2021).…”

The Short-Term Effects of the Shift From Prior-Year to Current-Year Enrollment on School Inputs in Arizona

“…In decline years, states may employ a hold-harmless provision under which state aid continues to be the same as that of the previous year despite the decline in enrollment. Scholars have argued that this hold-harmless provision competes with charter schools (Roza & Fullerton, 2013), violates the principle of horizontal equity (Fahy, 2011), and may produce racial disparities (Kelly, 2021). Gigliotti and Sorensen (2018) examined the effects of the hold-harmless provision in New York and found that this provision did not significantly affect instructional spending but did increase administrative spending.…”