Spending Shaft, Feds Say Bridgeport Students Shortchanged

Per-pupil spending in urban districts is not on par with affluent school districts in Connecticut, according to a report by the federal Department of Education. From Jacqueline Rabe Thomas, CT Mirror.

The federal government said Friday that Connecticut “shortchanges low-income, minority students.”

Connecticut and local governments are spending 8.7 percent less per student in the poorest school districts than they are in the most affluent school districts, according to data from the U.S. Department of Education.

That translated into a district like Bridgeport or New Haven spending $1,243 less for each student during the 2011-12 school year than a district like Darien. (See how much your district spends here.) High-need districts spend on average $842 less per student than the statewide average.

The federal government also highlighted Connecticut as having one of the largest spending disparities between districts with large numbers of minority students and their neighbors.

Full story here.

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3 comments

  1. I’m shocked, shocked. Oh well, what’s new? This is business as usual and we have a Mayor like Bill Finch who is underfunding education on his own, what a loser.

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  2. Mayor Finch knows the numbers (after all he has watched four children who have attended Bridgeport public schools) of students and the dollars from Bridgeport taxpayers, those from the State and also the Federal contributions.

    When his team was present for a meeting with the BOE and their Finance Staff, Superintendent Rabinowits shared gaps of $7 Million and and additional $5 Million but the Mayor has been close-mouthed about the number that will appear in his 2015-16 budget one month from now. And we must look at the number in the light of the ease with which he has quietly approved and moved along about $9 Million in park and playground improvements in fall 2014. Where has he found those funds? Are minority kids to be kept on playgrounds and ball fields their entire lives or will the Mayor, as community leader, make a case to move our youth up to the average assisted by getting the State to move on inequality for 20 years? Must we ask Brett or Bill to respond to the questions? Or will the Mayor become present at a brown bag lunch to discuss? Time will tell.

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