Fiscal Problems of Big City School Systems: Changing Patterns of State and Federal Aid J o s e p h F. M u r p h y
Most of the big cities are heading for a problem. Cleveland just got there first. David Martin
Executive Vice President Ohio School Boards Association
he purpose of this paper is to examine the fiscal crisis facing the big city
T school districts. Although school systems in general are experiencing
financial difficulties, the plight of big city school systems is especially acute. A casual reading of the daily newspaper reveals the extent of this growing problem-almost every big city system in Ohio faces the immediate or shortrange prospect of closing for lack of funds. On the national scene, the problem-although not as severe as in Ohio-is extensive. The goal of this report is to ferret out the causes for the unique fiscal problems facing city schools. We shall analyze both expenditure and revenue aspects of the problem. We shall also have an opportunity to examine the performance of intergovernmental transfers in helping to reduce the present crisis. When possible, we shall attempt to analyze big city school systems for selected Ohio cities.
COST/EXPENDITUREPROBLEMS
Joseph F. Murphy is a doctoral student in the Department o f EducationaI A dm inistration at the Ohio State University.
In general, it is accurate to report that the problems of big city school systems are similar to the broader difficulties facing the big cities in which they are located. The crisis can best be explained by examining the redistribution of population and change in economic activity within cities (Berke & Kirst, 1972, p. 8). In recent years, there has been a significant decline in human capital in cities. Cities are becoming a center for the poor, the uneducated, and the minorities (Benson, 1968, pp. 318-320). At the same time, the well-educated, highly skilled people are moving from the central cities to the suburbs (Meranto, 1967, p. 20). This changing population pattern has created communities of high-need low-income people surrounded by lower-need higher-income people. It is the high-need aspect of the problem 251
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that concerns us at present, because these needs are translated into substantially higher expenditure requirements for city schools. That is, the need for education is greater for central cities than for surrounding suburbs. As we shall see more fully below, not only do city schools require more in their educational packages, but what is needed tends to cost more-and even when some economies could be extracted, demonstration and labor market effects prevent cities from capturing them. Sacks (1972, chap. 2) notes that the expenditure problem can be viewed from two perspectives: a fiscal dimension (per capita expenditures for education) and an educational dimension (per pupil expenditure). Beginning with school expenditures as a percent of total current expenditures, we discover that for the central cities in the 37 largest Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas (SMSA) in 1962, educational expenditures consumed 32.4% of the budget. The national average was 44.8% and educational expenditures in the surrounding suburbs consumed 54.8% of the budget (Sacks, pp. 38-39). The figures for Columbus, Cincinnati, Dayton, and Cleveland (see Table 1) reflect this pattern for both 1962 (Sacks, chap. 2) and 1965 (Riles, 1970, p. 48). The data for 1970 continue to show that educational expenditures accounted for only 33% of city budgets, while such expenditures accounted for over 50% of suburban budgets (Colman, 1975, chap. 3). Although cities tax themselves more heavily than their surrounding suburbs (Berke & Kirst, 1972, p. 13; Colman, 1975, chap. 3), they spend less on education because of pressing and significant demands for expenditures on other public goods. Table 2 reveals that per capita expenditure on education in cities ($100.23) was somewhat less than the national average ($106.42) and substantially less than the average in outlying areas ($146.62). Except for Table 1. School Expenditures as a Percent of Total Current Expenditures (37 Largest SMSA) Central City (CC) 1962 Cincinnati Cleveland
Columbus Dayton National Average
29.4 30.2 37.7 32.4
Outside Central City (OCC)
1965
1962
-
1965
51.8
33.3 33.6 36.2 -
-
48.4 50.4 54.8
49.4 62.7 57.3 -
Table 2. Per Capita Expenditures on Education (37 Largest SMSA) OCC
CC
Cleveland Columbus Toledo National Average
1962
t967
1962
1967
$65 61 80 102
$132 132 136
$114 98 161 147
$144 162 170
Fiscal Problems of Big City School Systems
253
Cleveland, the picture for selected Ohio cities (Berke & Kirst, pp. 14-15) is not much different. For the 37 largest SMSA in 1970, municipal overburden pressures were increasing. In 1957, for each $100 of total per capita expenditures in the CC, OCC areas spent $125. By 1970 the differential had grown to $43 per capita (Colman, pp. 51-52). A 1976 report concluded that noneducational cost pressures on cities have not diminished over the years (Bothwell, Note t). An analysis of Table 3 shows us that the problem is not an unwillingness on the part of cities to purchase public goods, but rather an inability to channel money into education because of pressing needs elsewhere. Looking at the 37 largest SMSA, we find that central cities spent considerably more per capita on noneducational expenditures in 1967 than did outlying areas (Berke & Kirst, 1972, pp. 14-15). By 1970 the $92 difference between CC and OCC had grown to $215. Central cities were spending $413 per capita on noneducational expenditures, while outlying areas within the SMSA spent only $198 per capita (Colman, 1975, chap. 3). Turning to current per pupil expenditures, we discover a cyclical pattern. Prior to 1950, central cities spent more per pupil than did outlying areas. Equality in numbers was reached around 1957 and the cities declined relative to the suburbs for the next 10 to 12 years (Riles, 1970, p. 5; Sacks, 1972, pp. 19-38). At their lowest point, cities were spending only about two-thirds as much per pupil as their adjacent suburbs (Meranto, 1967, p. 20). The figures for 1962 (Riles, p. 51; Sacks, pp. 19-39) and 1965 (Riles, p. 51) are presented in Table 4. Largely due to an influx of state and federal aid between 1970-1978, the cities are again spending at least as much per pupil as the suburbs. In some cases they are able to spend more than OCC districts. The following analysis of Ohio Education Association data (Note 2) shows
Table 3. Total Noneducational Expenditures Per Capita, 1967 (37 Largest SMSA)
Cincinnati Cleveland Columbus National Average
CC
OCC
$259 196 188 230
$ 93 138 105 138
Table 4. Current Per Pupil Expenditures (37 Largest SMSA)
CC
Cincinnati Cleveland Columbus Toledo National Average
OCC
1962
1965
1962
1965
$371 327 379 -
$376 433 368 449
$459 332 512 -
$ 587 609 500 557
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Table 5. Current Per Pupil Expenditures, 1976 Fiscal Year
Cincinnati Cleveland Dayton Columbus Toledo
CC
Balance of the County
$1,286 1,367 1,573 1,180 1,161
$1,244 1,383 1,202 1,097 1,156
current per pupil expenditures for selected Ohio cities and the balance of the county. While per pupil expenditure discrepancies between CC and OCC areas have been removed, the special costs of city school districts are not met by equalizing expenditures. City schools require substantially more money per pupil than do suburban areas. As we examine some of the unique and specific expenditure problems that confront cities to a greater degree than suburbs, it is well to keep in mind the three general causes of the problem-greater educational needs, higher costs for provided education, and demonstration and labor market effects.
Vocational Needs There is a disproportionate amount of vocational and technical school attendance in central cities (Benson, 1968, pp. 321-322; Meranto, 1967, p. 38). This is basically a response to the demands caused by the changing population. Cleveland, for example, had 6.9% of the state's enrollment for kindergarten in 1963, but had 61.9% of the state's vocational and technical enrollment (Benson, pp. 321-322). In 1968 the six largest cities in New York State, which had 40% of the state's student population, had 90% of the state's full-time vocational pupils (Potomac Institute, 1973, pp. 34-36). Although the number of pupils in city school systems is declining, there is no reason to believe that the proportion of students requiring vocational training will decrease. Vocational and technical education costs 30 to 80% more than the academic high school program (Benson, pp. 321-322; Berke & Kirst, p. 57; Potomac Institute, pp. 34-36).
Compensatory Needs As Benson notes in his 1966 study of Los Angeles, "In order to obtain average performance from their schools, central cities must provide increasing amounts of intensive instruction for the growing lower-class populations" (p. 322). He found that over $2,200,000 were spent in Los Angeles to provide smaller classes for so-called "tow-index" children, while an additional $1,800,000 were required to provide special reading programs. Meranto (1967, p. 38) notes that considerable amounts of money must be spent in an attempt to create motivation in children who do not value education highly. A 1960 study (Potomac Institute, 1973) found that 37% of children aged 10 to 13 whose parents' income was below $3,000 were below grade level.
Fiscal Problems of Big City School Systems
255
Only 4% of this group whose parents were making more than $7,000 were below grade level. That the poor and disadvantaged are more likely to be located in the central cities of the nation can be seen in a study 0~otomac Institute) which found that the six largest cities in New York State with 40% of the student population, had 73% of the poverty family pupils, 83% of the state's pupils receiving Aid to Dependent Children, and 86% of the nonwhite population. A 1970 study (Potomac Institute) of the Northeast noted that 27.79% of the students in the large cities have reading problems while only 13.37% of suburban pupils have reading difficulties.
Special Education Needs Again we find in cities a disproportionate number of students who are handicapped-either mentally or physically-and who require special educational programs (Benson, 1968, p. 322; Maxwell & Aronson, 1977, pp. 29, 88; Meranto, 1967, p. 38). For example, the study of the six New York cities found that they had 54% of the state's handicapped pupils. In 1969, Chicago, with a student population of 563,000, had 2,858 teachers of the handicapped. The rest of Cook County, with a student population of 1,035,000 had only 1,813 teachers of the handicapped ~otomac Institute, 1973, pp. 34-36). In general, special education programs cost from two to five times as much as the average expenditure for regular programs (Benson, p. 322; Berke & Kirst, p. 57; Potomac Institute, pp. 34-36).
Language Education Needs The Supreme Court of the United States has held that children must be taught in a language that they can understand. Since most of these foreign language students are found in cities (Colman, 1975, p. 174), central city schools are required to pay additional compensation for teachers who can speak the needed languages, or they must pay to train their present staff to do the job. In New York City during the 1972-1973 school year there were over 49,000 students of Puerto Rican background who could speak little or no English (Potomac Institute, 1973, p. 21). The Demise of Start-up Money Closely related to the above constraints is the fact that the federal money supplied to help meet special needs is often considered start-up money. Generally, after a short period of time this money is cut back or eliminated, thereby leaving central-city school districts with the job of funding these expensive programs (Berke & Kirst, 1972, pp. 13-18; Humel & Nagle, 1973, p. 186).
Site, Construction, and Maintenance Costs Site and construction costs are noticeably higher in central cities (Berke & Kirst, 1972, p. 18; Meranto, 1967, p. 38). Land in the 21 largest cities cost $68,156 per acre as opposed to $3,074 in outlying areas (Humel & Nagle, p. 184). Humel and Nagle note that "in some instances it costs as much to purchase a site in the central city c o r e . . , as it does most other districts to construct the entire school building" (p. 184). In addition, the cost of new
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buildings in central cities is increased 20 to 30% (Potomac Institute, 1973, p. 29) because they must be multistoried (Humel & Nagle, p. 184). There are also marked increases in operating and maintaining the older buildings generally found in central cities. As of 1962, 40% of all students in Boston were in buildings over 50 years old. Half of the 63 buildings recommended for abandonment were still in use (Humet & Nagte, p. t84). As of 1965, 58% of all Cleveland schools were over 45 years old (Sacks, 1972, p. 53). In 1968, in 16 of the big cities, almost 600 elementary and more than 50 junior and senior high school buildings built before t900 plus 900 school buildings constructed between 1901 and 1920 were still in use (Potomac Institute, 1973, p. 23). In 1970-1971 it was costing the Detroit school system $231 per pupil for operating and maintenance, while the state average was only $170.
Retirement System Financing Some central city school districts are required to fund their own retirement systems, while the rest of the state school districts are funded by the state (Berke & Kirst, 1972, p. 18; Sacks, 1972, p. 84).
Higher Wages: Noncertified Employees Benson (1968, p. 325) notes that higher wages for noncertified employees, based upon prevailing community rates for comparable jobs, cost the city of Los Angeles at least $1,400,000 in 1966.
Higher Wages: Teachers Some of the causes of extra costs for city teachers are as follows: 1. aggressive and effective unions which have tended to push pay scales up and make step increases available more quickly (Berke & Kirst, 1972, p. 6; Humel & Nagle, 1973, p. 185) 2. demonstration and labor market effects between the suburbs and the central cities (Sacks, 1972, p. 37) 3. higher concentration of older and more expensive teachers (Potomac Institute, 1973, pp. 18-31; Riles, 1970, p. 53) 4. a greater demand for substitutes (Potomac Institute, pp. 18-31) 5. higher incentive allowances, in addition to labor market effects, to get teachers to work in the city (Potomac Institute, p. 31) Bothwell (Note 1) found that in 1971 Detroit had 41% of its teachers at the maximum salary. In addition, although Detroit ranked 65 out of 529 school districts in teacher salaries, it was unable to fill 529 vacancies (Potomac Institute, p. 31). Benson (1968, p. 326) concluded that it cost the Los Angeles school system $20,000,000 extra to attract and hold enough teachers to operate the schools in 1966.
Financial Difficulties of Nonpublic Schools Population shifts and economic hardships are affecting private as well as public schools and the private school problems are being felt by the public
Fiscal Problems o]'Big City School Systems
257
schools. For example, in Detroit in 1969, over 5,500 students switched from parochial to public school. Previously, the parochial system had eliminated their entire kindergarten program. It was predicted that if the parochial system could not respond to its financial troubles, over 48,000 new students would transfer into the city school system (Riles, 1970, pp. 63-65).
Desegregation Costs It is somewhat ironical that the cost of desegregation should fall upon the victims of "white flight," but this is nonetheless the case. l'he Columbus Dispatch recently revealed that the cost of desegregation would be $12,000,000 for two years in Dayton and $7,200,000 for nine months in Columbus. Municipal Overburden This is the fiscal dimension of big city school problems we noted earlier. The problem is, as Humel and Nagle (1973) state, that "central cities spend about 50% more per capita than surrounding outside central cities to provide the necessary municipal services; at the same time they spend $50 tess per citizen to support education" (p. 190). While central cities tax themselves 33% more than surrounding suburbs (Colman, 1975, chap. 3), they are able to spend much less per pupil from their own funds. Between 1957 and t965 there was a $118 increase in current city expenditures per capita and a $107 increase in suburban expenditures per capita. However, in the cities, only $38 went to education, while $80 went toward noneducation expenditures. In the suburbs, $60 went to education and only $47 went toward noneducation expenditures (Sacks, 1972, cl'/ap. 2). There seem to be two reasons why central cities are able to devote only 30% of their budget to education, while outlying areas are able to release over 50% of their budget (Riles, 1970, pp. 38, 42-43). First, there is the cost of supplying services to suburbanites who work in the city and/or use its recreational and cultural facilities (Benson, t968, p. 330). Second, the concentration of low socioeconomic citizens and poor housing-high-cost population and older physical plant (Sacks, 1972, p. 3)-means greater needs not only for special educational services but also for health services, police and fire protection, public recreation, etc. (Benson, 1968, p. 331 ; Meranto, t967, p. 38). One study has determined that overburden in Providence, R.I., may be as high as 19% of muncipal expenditures (Benson, p. 331). Special Extra Costs Benson (pp. 323-325) found in his study of Los Angeles that there are special costs accruing to cities because of large size and social class composition. He found that the city school district of Los Angeles spent an additional $32,000,000 in extra costs (without accompanying specific state or federal aid) in 1966. Listed below are six special costs. 1. security guards ($450,171) 2. special schools for maladjusted pupils ($1,229,483) 3. population mobility ($1,127,062) a. in-city movement ($527,062) b. portable classrooms to meet population shifts ($600,000)
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4. high truancy and child welfare services plus loss in state aid because of truancy ($1,680,920) 5. training of new teachers about urban education problems ($394,768) 6. urban affairs office to deal with urban tension ($159,068) More-recent data indicate that, if anything, these costs have increased over the years. Vandalism and theft cost the Detroit school system over $1,000,000 per year from 1967 to 1970. Los Angeles paid $3,400,000 for security in 1970-1971 while New York City needed to expend $6,000,000 for 1,200 "safety aides" for the 1972-1973 school year (Potomac Institute, 1973, p. 17). A study in Detroit concluded that: There are manifold services and costs necessary to help these "migrant children attain an equal chance for education-community agents to reach the parents, letters to be written to schools which the parents report their children had attended, additional clerical help to maintain the extra correspondence and record keeping, attendance officers,.., special services to diagnose those whose records could not be located, etc. (Potomac Institute, p. 2O) Attendance salaries consumed 9.02% of current per pupil expenditures in Detroit in 1970-1971 ; the state average was only 2.70% (p. 23). The study goes on to note that "massive programs of inservice training are essential to influence the understanding, attitudes, and effectiveness of the city's school staff" (p. 21).
Declining Population, Increasing Minority Enrollment In many cities, at the same time that populations have been decreasing, minority student enrollment has been increasing. As Callahan notes, Large cities are continuing to lose population and city school enrollments are continuing to decline. Yet the loss of city school children has not offset the increasing concentration of minority children in large urban school systems. City schools are losing children but gaining minority pupils. (Callahan et al., Note 3, p. 1) This of course means that declining enrollments do not reduce the need for many of the special programs offered in city schools. Enrollment and population changes for selected Ohio cities are found in Table 6 (Callahan et al., p. 13). In 1950, 1 out of 10 families in Detroit lived in a depressed community. By 1960, 3 out of 10 families lived in a depressed area, and by 1970 the number had risen to 6 out of 10 (Potomac Institute, 1973, p. 21).
REVENUE PROBLEMS At the same time that central city schools are experiencing the need to provide a higher-cost educational package, they find that their ability to raise money is declining relative to outlying areas. The assessed tax base is not ris-
259
Fiscal Problems of Big City School Systems Table 6. Population and Enrollment Changes, 1970-1975 Population Change No. Cincinnati Cleveland Columbus Dayton Toledo
-39,000 - 111,000 - 3,000 - 37,000 - t 6,000
Percent Minority %
16.8 14.1 6.4 16.9 4.3
Enrollment Change - 18,630 -24,096 - 16,928 - 13,005 - 6,481
Fall '70 45 59 27 41 30
Fall '74 51 61 31 48 33
ing, public support is declining, and restrictive legislation is channelling support to less deprived areas.
Deterioration of Tax Base Since schools rely primarily upon local property taxes for their funds, it is important to note that declining property tax bases have severely curtailed central city schools' ability to raise revenue. While the property tax base has generally continued to rise in both central cities and their suburbs, it has risen much faster in outlying areas. Tables 7-9 demonstrate this change. Table 7 (Sacks, 1972, chap. 3) shows changes in property values for central cities and suburbs; Table 8 (Sacks, p. 74) presents the figures on the shift of property from the central city to outlying areas; and Table 9 (Riles, 1970, pp. 34-35) shows changes in gross adjusted value.
Table 7. Percent Growth in Property Value, 1961-1966
Cincinnati Cleveland Columbus National Average
CC
OCC
7.4 - 5.1 21.9 c 21.1
67.5 23.5 31.6 c 54.4
c=annexation
Table 8. Percent of Property Found in Central City (Within SMSA)
Cincinnati Cleveland Columbus National Average
1961
1966
42.3 40.4 57.9 48,9
30.6 34.3 56.0 41.9
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Table 9. Change in Gross Assessed Value Including State Property Between t961-1966 (%)
Cincinnati Cleveland Columbus
CC
OCC
1.5 -2.3 22.8
24.3 21.6 35.4
Because we are presently more4nterested in the effects than in the causes of the relatively stagnant growth rate of property values in the central cities, we shall not examine the reasons for retrenchment in great detail. It is worth noting that in addition to the withdrawal of some taxable property from the base and the deterioration of existing housing, there has been a sharp decline in the number of businesses and industries choosing to locate within the central city (Humel & Nagle, 1973, p. 195). In 1929, two-thirds of manufacturing in the 12 largest SMSAs were located in the central city. By 1970 that figure had dropped to two-fifths (Humel & Nagle, p. 194). In Cleveland between the end of World War II and 1960, over one billion of a total $1½ billion spent for industrial expansion found its way into areas outside the central city (Riles, 1970, pp. 36-39). Finally, it is worth noting that average household values are significantly less in the central cities than in the suburbs (Peterson, 1976, p. 76). Loss of Human Capital The effects of the decline in human capital on revenue are numerous. In 1966 there were two times as many poverty families in central cities as in outlying areas (Riles, 1970, p. 26). As the poor, less-educated, and minorities emigrate to cities, new, low socioeconomic areas are created. According to Humel and Nagle (1973), "these neighborhoods are unlikely either to recognize the issues concerning quality education or to mount and maintain viable pressure groups in support of it" (pp. 198-199). It is much more difficult to press demands for needed educational funds from this group. In addition, there is a lack of what Coleman (1957) calls organizational density (interconnections and multiple organizational memberships). Because this density is the glue that holds the larger community together, its absence results in lack of popular support and confidence in community organizations, especially the schools. A more direct effect of file increasing concentration of poor in the cities has been a drop in median income and a rise in the amount of poor housing (Riles, 1970, p. 25). There is also a tendency for crowding-more people per house-to occur in these lower-class neighborhoods.
Growth of Nontaxable Property The concentration of publicly owned housing in central cities and the growth in the amount of prime space being removed from the tax base for transportation and other public use areas (Alkin, 1968, pp. 137-I39) has greatly reduced the amount of revenue flowing to school districts in the cities (Humel & Nagle, 1973, p. 181). The impact of this loss can be seen by noting two facts. First, 45% of the nation's public housing is located in the 35 largest school districts (Humel & Nagte, p. 187). Second,
Fiscal Problems of Big City School Systems
261
Usual payments in lieu of taxes made by the federal government to school districts serving low income families in federally supported public housing projects fall far short of the cost of educating youngsters living in those housing projects. An average of only $11.61 is contributed to support an average cost of $415.79 per pupil. (Humet & Nagle, p. 187) Domination of State Legislatures by Rural Interests and Failure of State Aid to Offset Fiscal Disparities One of the major problems facing city schools has been the failure of state legislatures to respond to the changing economic situation (Alkin, 1968, p. 139; Humel & Nagle, 1973, p. 200; Riles, 1970, p. 57). As Sacks (1972) notes, The economic-educational pendulum has swung to the suburbs, but unfortunately, unlike earlier years there has been no compensatory state policy to help most of the economically and socially deprived areas now too frequently found in the cities. (p. 1) Early philosophies and formulae designed to drain money away from the rich cities to poorer rural districts are still intact in many states and are unlikely to he altered so tong as rural interests and the "save-harmless" (Sacks, chap. 1) philosophy (additional aid to city schools made dependent on no less aid to other school systems) predominate. Even the more sophisticated formulae of the late 1960s and early 1970s will continue to be discriminatory as long as real property values are used as the only measure of a school district's capacity to support education. The concentration of commercial and industrial property in cities makes cities appear richer than if another more realistic measure of capacity-like incomewere used (Berke & Kirst, 1972, pp. t9-20). THE STATE AND FEDERAL ROLE The State Role We noted earlier that city school districts were able to spend only about two-thirds of what outlying areas spent for current per-pupil expenditures between 1957 and 1970. This situation was exacerbated by the activity of the state in supplying aid to school districts. In 1962, for example, state aid for education was $20.72 per capita in the central city and $37.61 for the outlying areas (Sacks, 1972, p. 41). That is, the states were providing almost $17 more per pupil to flae higher-income, lower-need suburbs than they were to their financially distraught cities (Humel & Nagle, 1973, p. 201). Selected figures for Ohio, presented in Tables 10 and 11 (Riles, 1970, p. 59), show an even bleaker picture. Table 10. State Educational Aid Per Pupil, 1962
Cincinnati Cleveland Columbus Toledo
CC
OCC
$49.80 51.20 50.20 51.60
$ 96.30 145.43 114.90 200.10
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Table 11. State Educational Aid Per Capita, 1962
Cincinnati Cleveland Columbus Toledo
CC
OCC
$6.76 7.73 9.28 8.54
$12.76 32.34 28.31 47.51
Between 1970 and 1975 the situation reversed, and state aid now flows into urban school districts in larger quantities than it does into suburban districts (Oakland, 1978, p. 14). We can see this clearly by examining the ratio of local to total state/local revenues in Table t2 (Callahan et al., Note 3, Table 6-3), by noting percentage changes in the local and state revenue contributions in Table 13 (Catlahan et al., Note 3, Table 7-5), and by comparing dollars per pupil flowing to the CC and to OCC areas in Table 14 (Ohio Education Association, Note 2). Table 12. Tax Characteristics of Selected Ohio School Districts: Ratios of Local to Local Plus State 1970
1975
.74 .77 .75 .78 .75
.64 .64 .64 .71 .59
Cincinnati Cleveland Columbus Dayton Toledo
Table 13. Percent Changes Per Pupil From 1970-1975
Cincinnati Cleveland Columbus Dayton Toledo
Current Expenditure
School Taxes
State Aid
66.49 50.23 54.77 51.38 47.25
44.62 25.74 23,20 32,37 19.27
141.51 140.96 108.43 89.33 148.27
Table 14. State Aid Per Pupil, 1976 Fiscal Year
Cincinnati Cleveland Columbus Dayton Toledo
CC
Balance of the County
$388.44 465.65 4 t 4.48 422.21 442.97
$378.23 306.42 396.23 411.40 342.83
Fiscal Problems of Big City School Systems
263
We can conclude from this analysis that the state has provided significant aid to the urban schools. The fact that CC schools now spend as much or more per pupil (see Table 5) than OCC areas is partially the result of increased state aid. However, given the extensive needs of urban school systems, it would be incorrect to assume that disparities in educational opportunity have been eliminated. Substantially more state aid will be needed to reach that goal. For example, for Detroit in 1970-1971 "to have offered the same education to its pupils as the suburban and nonmetropolitan school districts in Michigan, Detroit's annual school budget would have had to be increased by approximately half again" (Potomac Institute, 1973). The Federal Role Although one study has found that federal aid to education has been more responsive to urban areas than state aid (Berke & Kirst, 1972, p. 400), another notes "that the level has been so sma11 and the effect so minimal that federal aid has not provided much assistance to hard-pressed urban areas" (Riles, 1970, p. 65). In the most comprehensive study to date on the role of federal aid in financing elementary and secondary education, Berke and Kirst draw the following major conclusions: 1. Overall federal aid to education has only a slight equalizing effect at best and that within a number of metropolitan areas it is distinctly disequalizing. 2. The degree of equalization that does exist is too small to offset existing school-district fiscal disparities. 3. Although money from Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) does flow in greater proportion to the poor and greater need school districts, a number of federal programs actually help the rich to get richer (pp. 6-7). In short, if Title I ESEA aid were not included, federal aid would either be neutral toward or would actually increase the fiscal disparity between central cities and suburbs. The figures (Riles, 1970, p. 74) for selected federal programs in Cleveland and Cincinnati (Table 15) illustrate Berke and Kirst's conclusions. A more recent study (using 1975-1976 financial data) on the equalizing effects of federal aid for all of Ohio's cities reached the same conclusions as Berke and Kirst (Ogawa, Note 4). My own analysis suggests that total federal aid has provided substantial relief to five large Ohio cities considered in this report. Table 16 illustrates this conclusion.
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Table 15. Distribution of Federal Funds, 1967-City as a Percent of State
Cincinnati Cleveland
Enrollment
Vocational Aid
NDEA III
ESEA I
8.21 3.84
1 t.52 t.46
4.72 3.67
14.70 3.60
ESEA ESEA II III 6.47 3.09
5.07 13.00
Table 16. Federal Aid Per Pupil, 1976 Fiscal Year
Cincinnati Cleveland Columbus Dayton Toledo
CC
Balance of the County
$ t 50.57 170.70 100.38 t54.95 118.87
$34.04 27.13 43.82 50.84 32.79
CONCLUSION As recently as 1970, total state and federal aid per capita for education was $65 for the CC and $83 for OCC areas (Colman, 1975, p. 169). Rather than helping to offset the significant cost disadvantages confronting cities, such aid actually contributed to the problem. As the plight of cities and their schools has surfaced, state and federal governments have responded with significant amounts of aid. While much has already been accomplished, a great deal still needs to be done. As long as cities continue to be the home of the poor and disadvantaged, equal educational opportunity requires that urban school systems spend considerably more per pupil than the surrounding suburban areas. While the question of just how much more should be spent on urban pupils is beyond the scope of this paper, in light of the special problems facing city schools, it is safe to assume that the difference noted in Table 6 will not be effective in securing equal educational opportunities for urban pupils. It is also true that although state aid has increased substantially since 1970, in many cases these increases have barely kept pace with diminishing local revenues. The differences found in Table 14 must increase if city school districts are to meet the challenge of providing quality education to their citizens. REFERENCE NOTES
1. Bothwell, R. O. Urban adjustments in state school finance systems. Draft, January 1976. 2. Ohio Education Association data, 1976. 3. Callahan, J. J., Sacks, S. S., Wilken, W., & Edwards, R. Big city schools: 19 70-1975-A profile o f changing fiscal pressures. Unpublished paper, September 1977. 4. Ogawa, R. The equalizing effects o f federaI aid to education in selected school districts in the state o f Ohio. Unpublished paper, Columbus, Ohio, January 1978.
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