Title: The Facts on Rural Schools – Public Schools First NC
Headings: The Facts on Rural Schools
The Facts on Rural Schools
Leandro and Rural Schools
Critical Needs Directly Impacting Rural School Districts
Challenges for Rural Schools
Poverty
Healthcare
Underfunding
Academic Performance
Teachers
Broadband
Attempts at Reform
Privatization
School Closures or Teacher Replacement
Possible solutions
Rural Schools Can:
Lawmakers and policymakers should:
Last revised January 12, 2021
Resources

Content: Because students in rural districts tend to be spread out over a large geographical area, transportation costs per student tend to be high. On average nationwide, rural school districts receive just 17 percent of state education funding, although they comprise half of all districts and serve one in five students. Smaller rural schools are often at a disadvantage for funding in other ways. For example, the Title I funding formula emphasizes the number of students in poverty rather than the percentage of a school’s students that are in poverty. In addition, many rural schools have a small staff that may not have the time or training to complete applications for competitive grants. Even when rural schools do receive grant money, if it is awarded based on student population size, the amount awarded may not be significant. The 2020 Local School Finance Study from the Public School Forum of NC found that the ten highest spending counties spent on average $3,305 per student compared to an average of $782 per student by the ten lowest spending counties, with a gap of $2,523 per student. That gap is the largest since the Forum began tracking this figure in 1987. There are fewer resources available to lower wealth counties, including money for teacher salaries and supplies. Also, the tax burden is greater in lower wealth counties because the tax base is smaller.