Educators: Schools need funding to break cycle of poverty

from The Jackson Sun

As a recent report shows a majority of public school children in the South are poor, local educators say more funding is needed to improve students' chances for success.

The study by the Southern Education Foundation, a nonprofit organization that examines economic and social issues in the region, found that for the first time since the 1960s, a majority of public school children in the South were poor. According to its findings, in 1990, 37 percent of public school students in the South were low-income compared to 54 percent by 2006.

Low-income students are children whose family income makes them eligible for free or reduced meals at school. In 2006, 53 percent of Tennessee's public school students were poor, while nationally the figure is 46 percent. When the South is excluded, the percentage of poor students for the rest of the nation drops to 41 percent.

The report attributes part of the rise in numbers to a recession beginning in the late '80s that increased unemployment in the region. Also, changes in demographics for those who historically have been disproportionately poor in the South have played a role, with an influx of Hispanic immigration and a higher birth rate among African Americans.

"As a nation we need to start supporting public education at a whole new level, and I think if we don't, we'll suffer tremendously," said Nancy Zambito, superintendent of Jackson-Madison County Schools.

In 2005, 67 percent of public school children in Jackson-Madison County were economically disadvantaged, and 28 percent of the system's students were at a Title I school. Title I funds go toward resources and services for schools with a high number of needy students. Because school districts are required to keep the amount of funding relatively constant each year, the schools struggle to get the extra money they need for poor students, Zambito said.

"What you ensure is that you're always going to be behind," she said.

An increase in school funding is needed to have the best chance to break the cycle of poverty, said Lane College President Wesley McClure.

"The poor are supposed to escape to the middle class through the assistance that they receive in the public schools," McClure said.

If the trend continues, the majority of public school students throughout the nation could be low-income within 10 years, the report says. If the problem isn't addressed, the nation's status as a global power could be affected, McClure said.