Are white Arizona school districts receiving more funding than non-white?

March 06, 2019
Meghan Krein

EdBuild, a nonprofit studying education funding, recently published a report citing that nationwide and in Arizona, predominately white school districts get more money per student than non-white districts. The gap? A hefty $23 billion.

In Arizona, schools that serve mostly non-white students receive 46 percent fewer dollars than mostly white schools, creating a $7,613 difference per student according to the report. Many of the mostly white Arizona districts are small, rural districts while those with mostly non-white students are in larger, urban districts.

The study has been met with questions about its methodology from the Arizona Association of School Business Officials.

Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College Assistant Professor Margarita Pivovarova says, “The comparison groups are like oranges and apples. We really can’t compare, not in terms of size, not in terms of location.”

Pivovarova and MLFTC Associate Professor Jeanne Powers reviewed the study. “I think it’s an important question, but I think we have to be really careful about making comparisons,” says Powers.