 However, lack of resources is only a small effect on academic achievement in comparison to students’ family backgrounds.Using property taxes to fund public schools contributes to school inequality.Lower-funded schools are more likely to have (1) lower-paid teachers; (2) higher student-teacher ratios, meaning less individual attention for each student; (3) older books; (4) fewer extracurricular activities, which have been shown to increase academic achievement; (5) poorly maintained school buildings and grounds; and (6) less access to services like school nursing and social workers.