New Report Shows Majority-White School Districts Get $23 Billion More In Funding Than Non-White Districts

New reports show that predominately white school districts in the U.S receive $23 billion more in funding than majority non-white school districts.

A new report from EdBuild, an education advocacy group, revealed that the average white school district received $13,908 for every student in 2016, compared to $11,682 per student in districts that mostly serve people of color. The U.S has nearly 13,000 traditional public school systems that on average cater to 3,500 students each, according to the report. The study described “white” or “non-white” districts as “racially concentrated” districts that are attended by more than half of the students in the country, in which the study body is either three-quarters white or three-quarters non-white.

That comes out to a roughly $2,226 difference per student, which stems from the way Americans pay for education. Public schools are connected to the local control of taxes, CNN reports. “We need to take a different approach,” EdBuild CEO Rebecca Sibilia told CNN, suggesting that local governments reconsider how school districts are drawn. EdBuild reports that white communities typically have more money, which is due to several socioeconomic factors, thus are able to spend money are schools. White schools are usually much smaller than non-white schools, the report shows.

“Small districts can have the effect of concentrating resources and amplifying political power,” the report says. “Because schools rely heavily on local taxes, drawing borders around small, wealthy communities benefits the few at the detriment of the many.” The study also found only about 1,500 students are enrolled in white school districts which is half the size of the national average, while non-white districts cater to over 10,000 students, about three times more than that average.

Sibilia says these disparities have been caused America’s racist and segregationist past. “Where people live matters in terms of how well-funded their schools are,” she said. EdBuild is a group that works to promote equity in public schools.