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Arcy Fuentes

Professor Batty

English 101

October 7, 2019

The Failing K-12 System

In a 2016 study from the Center on Education and the Work force, the college

educational gap has grown 29% between Latinx students and their white peers. The resource

deficiency in the k-12 system has led to a broken foundation for Latinx students. The k-12

system is failing Latinx students which lead to fewer incoming freshmen in college. With having

the state and local government give equitable funds to low-income schools, there will be a better

chance of being able to pay for better education in grade school and allow them to achieve higher

education.

The reason these Latinx students are not prepared for a higher curriculum is that they lack

the needed resources from their district. California gives each district the same bare minimum

amount to fund each school. In the article, California’s school funding flaws make it difficult for

districts to meet teacher demands, written by Louis Freedberg, states that “California spends far

less than most states in per-pupil funding so that there is simply less money on the table to

provide what teachers feel they need.” Freedberg then continues to explain how the State of

California has set a minimum amount for education spending and argues that the current funding

system is insufficient and unfair. Having California give more equitable funds can help allow

schools to create programs that could potentially help student outcomes.

Low-income students are often left to go to their neighborhoods which are ill-equipped to

serve the student body. The Concentration of Poverty in American Schools, written by Ronald
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Brownstein argues that low-income communities can then lead to economic isolation from

upward mobility. Brownstein writes “…concentrated poverty is tightly correlated with gaps in

educational achievement.” These lower-income schools are then faced with canceling programs

such as arts, after school programs, STEM programs, and sports. They are also faced with

overcrowding classes and not enough school supplies for both the teachers and students. As a

result of all of these problems, students are left disengaged with the material and unable to obtain

the appropriate resources to fulfill the rigor of higher education.

Funding is not the real problem in low-income schools. In Financing California’s Public

Schools written by Patrick Murphy and Jennifer Paluch they explain how California public

schools receive funding. Murphy and Paluch inform us that “California public schools received

a total of $97.2 billion in funding from three sources: the state (58%), property taxes and

other local sources (32%), and the federal government (9%).” A minimum of 40% is required

from the state to fund k-12 education each year. There is more than enough funding for each

school and how each school allocate their funding may be insufficient in serving their

students.

Although the state of California may give the same amount of funding to each district,

each regional cost may vary from one another. Recognizing regional costs in school funding

formula is both equitable and affordable by Jennifer Bestor, she explains how the identical

funding can harm certain districts. “California’s regional cost differences documents a “bare-

bones” budget for a family of four in San Francisco ($123,442) that is over twice as high as one

in Fresno ($59,440) or Bakersfield ($57,898),” this shows even though there may be funds they

can be insufficient for some. And since 58% of funding comes from property taxes, wealthy

school districts don’t necessarily need the extra hand.

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With the lack of equitable funds from the k-12 system we see how Latinx students fail to

have a fair education compared to their peers. Without the strong foundation of resources, this

can lead to uninterested and unprepared students. For the success of the Latinx community more

needs to be done both from the institution and state.

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Works Cited

Chen, Michelle. “How Unequal School Funding Punishes Poor Kids.” The Nation, 14 May 2018,
www.thenation.com/article/how-unequal-school-funding-punishes-poor-kids/.

Freedberg, Louis. “California's School Funding Flaws Make It Difficult for Districts to Meet
Teacher Demands.” EdSource, EdSource, 21 Feb. 2019, edsource.org/2019/californias-
school-funding-flaws-make-it-more-difficult-for-districts-to-meet-teacher-
demands/608824.

Gándara, Patricia. “The Crisis in the Education of Latino Students.” NEA, 2008,
www.nea.org/home/17404.htm.

Janie Boschma, Ronald Brownstein. “Students of Color Are Much More Likely to Attend
Schools Where Most of Their Peers Are Poor.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 29
Feb. 2016, www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/02/concentration-poverty-
american-schools/471414/.

Lynch, Matthew. “18 Reasons the U.S. Education System Is Failing.” The Edvocate, 3 Apr.
2017, www.theedadvocate.org/10-reasons-the-u-s-education-system-is-failing/.

Lynch, Matthew. “Poverty and School Funding: Why Low-Income Students Often Suffer.” The
Edvocate, 15 Jan. 2017, www.theedadvocate.org/poverty-and-school-funding-why-low-
income-students-often-suffer/.

Martin, Carmel, et al. “A Quality Approach to School Funding.” Center for American Progress,
Nov. 2018, www.americanprogress.org/issues/education-k-
12/reports/2018/11/13/460397/quality-approach-school-funding/.

Moreno, Eric. “Latino College Students Are Falling Behind Their Peers.” Salud America, 8 Oct.
2018, salud-america.org/latino-college-students-falling-behind/.

Yellin, Tal. “Education vs Prison Costs.” CNNMoney, Cable News Network, 2018,
money.cnn.com/infographic/economy/education-vs-prison-costs/.

Murphy, Patrick, and Jennifer Paluch Paluch. “Financing California's Public Schools.” Public
Policy Institute of California, Nov. 2018, www.ppic.org/publication/financing-
californias-public-schools/.