Program Widens School Funding Gap, Report Says

Rich States Are Found to Get More Than Poor Ones in $13 Billion Effort to Aid Low-Income Students

By Amit R. Paley, Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, December 21, 2006; Page A04

A $13 billion federal program to help students from low-income families has actually widened an education funding gap between rich and poor states, according to a study released yesterday.

The program, known as Title I, is part of a slew of federal, state and local policies that direct more resources to the nation's wealthiest children than to its poorest, the study concluded. It found that the highest-poverty school districts receive an average of $825 less each year per student in state and local funding than the wealthiest districts. It also found that state and local money often flows disproportionately to wealthy students within districts.