Problem
The role and hope of the public education sector in the United States is to provide equal education opportunities to all children, regardless of the families to which they are born or where they live. However, the emergence of COVID-19 in 2019 henceforth, facilitated longstanding and interrelated realities in the United States public education funding that have made equitable funding impossible (Allegretto et al., 2022). In this case, the identified issue related to funding in public education is “inequitable and inadequate funding,” which leaves many students stranded as they strive to complete their educational programs at different levels of education.
As stated above, insufficient funding leaves many students incapable of reaching their targeted performance benchmarks in the educational landscape. In addition to insufficient funding, the educational landscape in the United States is inequitable, where students from low-income families and those originating from communities of color are affected most (Allegretto et al., 2022). Indeed, these students lack enough educational resources and opportunities to meet their educational goals successfully. These two issues are related and have been the primary issues behind the funding system of public schools in the United States.
Insufficient and inequitable funding in the United States public education is significantly influenced by the decision of the U.S. government to underinvest in education. Indeed, the United States spends a smaller percentage of its GDP on education (Allegretto et al., 2022). This means that the small amounts placed on the educational landscape leave a gap in funding, affecting students and primarily those from low-income families and minority communities. Given that the funding made to public schools is not sufficient across many districts, school managements fail to make enough preparations to survive emergencies and other circumstances that emerge unexpectedly.
How Inequitable and Insufficient Funding Affect Education
Unequal and insufficient funding in public schools has affected the quality of education offered in public schools since many students struggle to meet their educational goals due to a lack of sufficient funds that can cater to all educational needs. As described by the Education Law Center (2020), various states such as Mississippi, Nevada, and Arizona implemented low funding levels for students in public schools, which facilitate poor academic performance and lower graduation rates (Farrie & Sciarra, 2022). Indeed, students in these schools struggle to access or afford essential educational resources such as technology tools, course textbooks, and qualified educators. As a result, these students get low-quality education, and some students, especially those from low-income families, fail to graduate. Additionally, Bakar et al. (2019) have described inequitable funding as a significant issue related to insufficient funding, which dramatically affects the quality of education offered in public schools. This study underlined that white school districts receive $23 billion more than non-white school districts despite accommodating the same number of students (Baker et al., 2019). From this study, it can be suggested that students from disadvantaged families, such as those originating from minority communities and low-income families, lack revised resources for learning. They also lack opportunities to leverage the advanced curriculum. Generally, the government’s underinvestment in the education sector facilitates poor student outcomes compared to countries that predominantly invest in education (Knoff, 2023). Indeed, underinvestment may affect the nation’s innovation capabilities and global competitiveness.
Reflection of My Thoughts on the Issue
The issues of insufficient and inequitable funding in the United States public educational landscape are deeply embedded and mirror significant economic and social inequalities. Thus, these issues must be addressed to facilitate a smooth transition of learning processes in all public schools, enabling all students, regardless of their families’ income and origin, to meet their educational goals. From this standpoint, all states should emphasize revising the funding mechanisms and ensuring fairness and justice as they allocate funds to students from diverse populations. From the analysis presented above, I realized that the existing gap facilitating inadequate funding is influenced by the government’s decision to underinvest in the education landscape. Therefore, the federal government should focus on increasing the funds allocated to public schools in the country. In this case, increased funding can enable all students to access adequate learning resources and, hence, meet their goals. Lastly, states should establish policies that call for equality while funding the students. Indeed, all students should be allowed to access equal educational resources.
Conclusion
Inequitable and insufficient funding has been a critical problem in the educational landscape of the United States. These issues are interrelated and have been geared by the government’s decision to underinvest in education. Perhaps, the U.S. government invests a smaller percentage of its GDP in the education sector, facilitating funding issues that affect students’ performance and graduation rates. Students from low-income families and communities of color are more affected since they receive lower funding than their counterparts.
References
Allegretto, S., García, E., & Weiss, E. (2022). Public Education Funding in the US Needs an Overhaul: How a Larger Federal Role Would Boost Equity and Shield Children from Disinvestment during Downturns. Economic Policy Institute.https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED622919.pdf
Baker, B. D., Di Carlo, M., & Weber, M. (2019). The adequacy and fairness of state school finance systems. Retrieved May, 14, 2019.https://www.schoolfinancedata.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/ExecSummary_FinanceAnnualReport_2021.pdf
Farrie, D., & Sciarra, D. G. (2022). Making the Grade 2022: How Fair Is School Funding in Your State?. Education Law Center.https://search.issuelab.org/resources/38579/38579.pdf
Knoff, H. (2023) The impact of inequitable school funding: Solutions for struggling schools without the money to fully help struggling students, American Consortium for Equity in Education. Available at: https://www.ace-ed.org/inequitable-school-funding/#:~:text=These%20funding%20inequities%20were%20recently,that%20analyzes%20school%20funding%20issues.\
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