A just released ERASE Racism report details the inequitable funding of Long Island, New York schools and the impact on minority group students. The report, "Unequal Resources for Long Island Students Based on Race," focuses on 66 Long Island school districts. Eleven of the districts are “intensely segregated (90-100% non-White"); ten have a majority Black and Hispanic (50-89%) students; five are considered racially diverse (40-60% White), and forty are at least 70% white.
The intensely segregated L.I. school districts, on average, spend nearly $10,000 less per student each year than the predominantly white school districts. This means there are fewer guidance counselors, social workers, and advanced placement options, than in predominantly White districts. The intensely segregated L.I. school districts face both financial and environmental stress and have significantly higher teacher turnover.
The Erase Racism report also documented that the number of intensely segregated school districts on Long Island is growing. There were five districts in the 2003-2004 school year and eleven in 2019-2020 with a large influx of Latinx children. Today, over a third of all Black and Latinx students, over 65,000 children and teenagers, attend intensely segregated districts that are denied critical educational resources because of discriminatory school funding.
On Long Island, the districts with the highest per capita spending in 2018 were Syosset with 6,509 students, $32,125 per student, and Great Neck with 6,754 students, $30,988 per student. Other high per capita spending districts are Connetquot, Three Village, Northport-East Northport, Bellmore-Merrick, and Half Hallow Hills. These seven school districts each ranked in the top ten districts nationwide for per capita student spending in 2018.
According to the website data.nysed.gov, the student body in the Syosset Central School District is 50% White, 42% Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander, 5% Hispanic/Latino, and less than 1% Black. 4% of its students are English Language Learners, 10% have disabilities, and 10% are considered economically disadvantaged. The student body in the Great Neck UFSD is 43% White, 44% Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander, 9% Hispanic/Latino, and less than 1% Black. 6% of its students are English Language Learners, 16% have disabilities, and 21% are considered economically disadvantaged. By comparison, the Roosevelt school district in Nassau County, where 100% of the student population is Black or Latinx, 29% of its students are English Language Learners, 13% have disabilities, and 72% are considered economically disadvantaged. Roosevelt spends $22,143.17 per student, $10,000 less a year or about 1/3 of the amount of Syosset. Hempstead, where 100% of the student population is Black or Latinx, 43% of its students are English Language Learners, 10% have disabilities, and 75% are considered economically disadvantaged, spends $22,182.25, also spends $10,000 less a year per student less than Syosset.
According to the website Niche.com, Syosset ranks 3rd in New York State as a district with the best teachers and 5th as the district with the best schools. The Syosset graduation rate is 98% and 89% of Syosset students are at least proficient in math and 76% in reading. Syosset High School, Great Neck South High School, and Great Neck North High School were each named one of the 1,000 best high schools in the United States.
Niche.com did not rank Roosevelt or Hempstead schools but noted that the Roosevelt graduation rate is 68% and only 32% of Roosevelt students are proficient in math and 39% in reading. According to Niche.com, the Hempstead graduation rate is 53% and only 31% of Hempstead students are proficient in math and 33% in reading.
School districts like Syosset and Great Neck establish a standard for educational excellence, something that should be available to every child on Long Island and in the United States. Money cannot solve all the problems confronting students in Roosevelt and Hempstead schools, but it is outrageous that the students and schools that need the most help get the least funding.
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