Tedder and others tried last month to elicit a commitment to equity spending from commissioners. They were noncommittal. School officials fear that if commissioners stick with their preference for small neighborhood schools instead of larger schools and with their intention to not close any neighborhood school, the number of poor schools will rise. And so will the need for equity money. Bostic, speaking for the GOP majority on the commissioners board, said commissioners have no objection to providing money to schools in economically depressed areas.
Race has nothing to do with it.
Socioeconomics has everything to do with it. Research in this area is unequivocal. Children from economically impacted areas need a sustained, accelerated boost. School officials required leadership teams of teachers, administrators and parents at each school to apply for the extra money, stating how the money would be used. Most schools, such as Washington and Hampton, used the money to hire extra teachers and reduce class sizes.