Dividing Lines: The Role School District Boundaries Play in Spending Inequality for Public Education

Abstract

ObjectiveTo highlight the role that school district boundaries along racial cleavages contribute to differences in spending on public education.MethodsFinancial and demographic data were collected on the 11,000 plus school districts and 1,800 counties in the United States from 1995 to 2011. A series of panel models was used to estimate the effect of segregation on differences in spending.ResultsModels show that white–Black segregation leads to increased variation in per child local revenue within counties. Within these segregated counties, districts with larger Black populations collect less in local revenue but have a higher tax burden.ConclusionIn explaining differences in per child expenditures across school districts, economic differences are the most cited. Racial segregation often occurs along school district borders and leads to differences in per child expenditures through concentration of resources in certain districts.