Too many children—often low-income children and children of color—are denied access to high-quality education because they attend schools that are underfunded and under resourced. All 50 states have adopted school-funding formulas—systems for distributing state aid—that are often aimed at addressing and reducing funding inequities. But many of these systems fail to achieve this goal and differences in per-pupil spending between low-income and high-income communities persist.
A new report from the Center of American Progress, “The Stealth Inequities of School Funding,” identifies often-overlooked features of school-funding systems that tend to exacerbate inequities in per-pupil spending rather than reduce them. They do so in ways that favor communities with the least need.
Please join the Center for American Progress for an event to examine these issues and their possible solutions. Opening remarks will be provided by Gov. Ed Rendell, who tackled these issues when he was governor of Pennsylvania. Professors Bruce Baker and Sean Corcoran will discuss the findings of CAP’s new report, and our esteemed panelists will discuss the importance of addressing funding inequity and the challenges facing reform efforts.
 
Welcoming Remarks:
Cynthia Brown, Vice President of Education Policy, Center for American Progress
Opening Remarks:
Gov. Ed Rendell, Former Governor of Pennsylvania
Featured Presentations:
Bruce Baker, Professor, Rutgers University
Sean Corcoran, Associate Professor, New York University
Distinguished Panelists:
Bruce Baker, Professor, Rutgers University
Michael Casserly, Executive Director, Council of the Great City Schools
Jose Torres, Superintendent, School District U-46, Elgin, IL
Gov. Ed Rendell, Former Governor of Pennsylvania
Moderated by:
Cynthia Brown, Vice President of Education Policy, Center for American Progress