Quote:
Originally Posted by miami_fan
The idea that we are still funding K-12 public school education with mostly property taxes is beyond ridiculous.
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The thing is, we don't. About 40% of all school funding is from property taxes, with almost 50% being from state taxes and the rest from federal or some random local sources.
But it varies
widely from district to district. My district, which is wealthy, gets 90% of its funding from property taxes. Chicago Public Schools, on the other hand, gets 50% of its funding from local sources (mainly property tax) and the other 50% is roughly split between state & federal funding.
Now, a lot of that state & federal funding is directed for students who need extra help, of which my district has less (though we do have 25% on free & reduced lunch), but still, the advantages my district has (and other wealthy districts have) should be obvious. And that's not even talking about the districts in wealthy communities where residents will raise money for capital expenses like new athletic centers, libraries, etc....
Like much of the rest of everything in America, it is an unfair system that benefits the wealthy. Thus, the goal of every American is to make it past that dividing line into that "wealthy" cohort, so as to utilize all the benefits that confers. Otherwise life sucks for you.