BLACK AND LATINO STUDENTS ENDURE THE BRUNT OF NEW JERSEY PUBLIC SCHOOL UNDERFUNDING

Black and Latino students in New Jersey are far more likely to attend schools that are spending well below the level set as adequate in the state’s school funding formula, while white and Asian students typically attend districts spending at or even above the adequate funding level.

The disproportionate impact on Black and Latino students resulting from the failure of successive governors and legislatures to fully fund the school funding formula – the School Funding Reform Act of 2008 (SFRA) – is documented in a new Education Law Center research report issued today.

The ELC report shows per pupil education spending is, on average, $1,506 and $1,806 below adequate for Black and Latino students, respectively, under the SFRA. Spending on the state’s white students is $1,106 per pupil above the SFRA adequacy level.

“While the spending gap on educating Black and Latino students is significant statewide, the gaps are even greater in districts with a high degree of racial segregation,” said Danielle Farrie, ELC Research Director and author of the report The Color of Opportunity: How the Underfunding of New Jersey’s Schools Disproportionately Impacts Black and Latino Students. 

The SFRA is a weighted-student formula constructed to deliver adequate funding based on the unique student needs of every school district. The level of funding deemed adequate is driven by a districts’ overall enrollment, with additional funds or “weights” for low-income and English learner students. In New Jersey, as in other states, a district’s enrollment of low-income and English learner students is highly correlated with the racial composition of the student population.

Under the SFRA formula, the amount of funding available for districts to spend on their students is provided by a mix of state aid and local property taxes. A municipality’s fiscal capacity to raise local tax dollars for its schools determines the amount of state aid the local district will receive. New Jersey districts serving higher enrollments of Black and Latino students typically have a reduced fiscal capacity and, as a result, are more reliant on state aid. This means students in these districts are disproportionately shortchanged when that aid is not forthcoming from the Legislature. This stands in contrast to wealthier, predominately white districts that can compensate for state underfunding by increasing local tax revenue.

The report draws a crucial line connecting public school underfunding and racial disparity. The report’s key findings on the interplay between public education finance and race include:

• The average Black and Latino student attends a district that is spending far below its SFRA Adequacy Spending Target, while the average white and Asian student attends a district that spends at or above the Adequacy Target (see figure above).
• District spending gaps are the result of a combination of state and local revenue gaps. While students of all racial groups, on average, are owed state revenue, the gap for the average Black and Latino student is far higher than for the average white and Asian student.
• For the average white and Asian student, excess local revenue more than makes up for state underfunding, while for Black and Latino students, local revenue gaps compound the state aid deficits.
• The racial disparities in spending and revenue are even more pronounced when considering the racial segregation of school districts. At the extremes, majority Latino districts are spending over $3,300 below their SFRA target, while majority white districts spend more than $1,700 above their SFRA target.
• These racial disparities in spending and revenue can be reduced if: the SFRA formula is fully funded by the state; Local Fair Share (LFS) calculations are modified to better reflect a community’s ability to pay; and property tax caps are lifted for those communities that are underfunding their local share.

“We hope this report sends a strong message to legislators and the Governor that full formula funding is also a matter of advancing racial justice in our state,” Dr. Farrie added. “Honoring the commitment to full funding is especially crucial given the intense racial segregation in New Jersey’s public education system.”

View the report online for interactive features or download a pdf here.

Related Stories:

COMPARING NEW JERSEY SCHOOL SPENDING THE RIGHT WAY: A NEW ELC RESEARCH REPORT

$4 BILLION LOST: A DECADE OF DISINVESTMENT IN NEW JERSEY’S PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Press Contact:

Sharon Krengel
Policy and Outreach Director
skrengel@edlawcenter.org
973-624-1815, x 24

Press Contact:
Sharon Krengel
Director of Policy, Strategic Partnerships and Communications
skrengel@edlawcenter.org
973-624-1815, x240