Title: Poverty and School Funding: Why Low-Income Students Often Suffer - The Edvocate
Headings: 
Poverty and School Funding: Why Low-Income Students Often Suffer
By Matthew Lynch
Low-Income Students Hardest Hit
Not Just a Student Problem
Matthew Lynch

Content: It’s not a secret that poverty is a major problem in the United States. The middle class seems to be disappearing and the gap is widening between the upper class and the lower class sectors of society. The socioeconomic status of children and their families has a profound effect on the children’s education, even in a country that prides itself on equal opportunity and fair treatment of all. Funding to low-income Title I schools has decreased since 2010 and a number of states have cut pre-K educational per student funding in recent years and many have had to reduce enrollment numbers. In practical terms, these findings make sense. Property taxes pay much of public education costs and that revenue source is still low. Overall, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities found that districts collected just over 2 percent lower on property taxes ending in March than in the year before. Furthering the problem is the fact that while states have been cut throat in reducing spending, they have not been as vigilant in raising revenue sources through taxes and fees. Not Just a Student Problem
Less state spending on education certainly affects the learning experience but it also impacts other areas of the economy. Unemployed teachers and administrators have less to pump back into the economy and the viscous cycle of K-12 underfunding is furthered.