Report: Big disparity in how the nation pays for public schools
Even as Illinois debates a new school funding plan, the achievement gap between the nation's wealthiest and poorest students is growing dramatically.
That's one of the facts from a new National Public Radio project, “School Money,” which debuted today.
NPR and some of their member stations — including the local affiliate WBEZ — have taken a comprehensive look at how the nation pays for its public schools.
The report includes an interactive map of the nation where you can see how much your district spends per student, adjusted for regional differences.
As part of today's report, WBEZ's Becky Vevea discusses two districts in Illinois located less than an hour away from each other.
One, a district in Chicago Ridge located southwest of Chicago, spent about $9,794 per student in 2013. The other, Rondout District 72 in Lake Forest, spent almost three-times that amount.