Facilities Spending and Student Learning Outcomes in New Jersey
- Facilities Spending and Student Learning Outcomes in New Jersey
introduction
Racial and economic segregation throughout the United States (US) are related and lead to inequities in school quality measures. According to Rothstein (2017), racially segregated neighborhoods have continued across the US as the result of direct government involvement, laws, and public policy, and to a lesser extent, as the result of white flight, redlining practices, and other private and community practices, including families choosing to reside in neighborhoods whose residents are of their same racial backgrounds. Such segregation practices have implications for school districts. For instance, there are millions of children who attend school facilities described as "unhealthy, unsafe, educationally inadequate, environmentally unsustainable, and financially inefficient" (Filardo & Vincent, 2017, p. 1), with the majority of these negative conditions known to be most prevalent in schools serving students from economically disadvantaged communities (Filardo & Vincent, 2017; Filardo et al., 2019; Rivera, 2017).
Inequity in school infrastructure spending has also been related to racial and economic segregation. Sosina and Weathers (2019) focused on the relationship between race and infrastructure spending and found per-pupil infrastructure expenditures to be lower for Black and Latinx students when compared to White students. Additionally, a significant relationship benefiting White students was found between Latinx-White segregation and per-pupil infrastructure expenditures (Sosina & Weathers, 2019). Because "investments in school infrastructure yield modest long-term positive impacts on academic achievement" (Conlin & Thompson, 2017, p. 27), differences in infrastructure spending across racial and economic lines leads to inequitable educational experiences and academic outcomes for students. This unfortunately perpetuates [End Page 34] the long-standing notion that separate is not equal.
income-based segregation
Segregated neighborhoods lead to detrimental impacts on education and school quality. Neighboring school districts that rely more on local revenues for funding often see inequity in school spending, with high local wealth being positively related to larger school district budgets (Baker et al., 2016). Because race and wealth are strongly correlated throughout the US (Baker et al., 2016), racial segregation and economic segregation are often aligned, leading to low income, segregated schools and putting children of racial minority groups at a disadvantage when compared to their White counterparts. However, segregation negatively impacts students of all races, as students are unable to "gain experience navigating the diverse environments in which, as adults, they will have to make their way" (Rothstein, 2017, p. 196), irrespective of their race.
While income and racial inequality are often related to each other, evidence found throughout the relevant literature supports that income-based achievement gaps far exceed racially-based achievement gaps (Baker et al., 2016). There is thus a need in the relevant literature to better understand how per student allocation of funds in school infrastructure expenditure may differ, especially across school districts that predominantly serve families of one specific economic status over others.
The current study focuses on the facilities spending of 231 school districts across New Jersey's District Factor Group (DFG) classifications. There are eight DFG classifications (i.e., A, B, CD, DE, FG, GH, I, and J), with districts ranging across this continuum from more economically disadvantaged (A) to less economically disadvantaged (J). Based on the known relationship between race and economic status in the US (Sosina & Weathers, 2019), it is not surprising that more economically disadvantaged districts in NJ service mostly families and students of racial minority groups, while less economically disadvantaged districts service a disproportionately greater number of White families (Baker & Weber, 2021).
theoretical framework
The theoretical underpinnings of this study rest on an equity-oriented model where state and local wealth and income alongside fiscal effort impacts state and local revenue, which directly influences current operating expenditure. These relationships are the first part of Baker et al.'s (2016) "conceptual map of the relationship of schooling resources to children's measurable school achievement outcomes" (p. 3). The second part of Baker et al.'s model links schooling resources [End Page 35] (i.e., student-teacher ratios and class size, and competitive wages) to student outcomes, which is in line with the fact that operating expenditures are mostly used to support staff salaries and benefits (Sosina & Weather...
