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Catching up: with greater needs, school districts serving mostly poor students often can't provide more than the basics.

Article Excerpt
One Friday morning in early March, the auditorium at General George S. Patton Elementary School in south suburban Riverdale was abuzz with excitement. A pep rally in anticipation of the following week's high-stakes standardized tests featured a pair of rapping young boys, a group of cheering girls with blue pompons and a tall teacher with dreadlocks reading a children's book about the importance of such exams. "The test. The test. The test," he repeated, in a deep whispery voice.

Then, as the rally disbanded, an impromptu tumbling show took place with four boys flipping their lanky bodies several times in the air. Others cheered as they lined up to go back to their classrooms. "We just want to get our kids hyped," said Kathy Colbert, the school's assistant principal, who reminded the children to be ready for the exams by getting a good night's sleep, eating breakfast and arriving to school on time.

There's more than enough enthusiasm about learning in Gen. George Patton School District 133. And, with the district receiving $10,144 per pupil, about 15 percent above the statewide mark of $8,786 per pupil, it would seem there's more than enough money for the district to accomplish its academic goals.

But, with 97 percent of Patton district students living in poor homes, officials complain that, once tutoring and remedial programs, as well as preschool, special education, transportation and free lunch, are paid for, the district has little left for much else.

Like many school districts serving students from poor homes, the Patton district spends money for services and programs that school districts serving students from middle-class and upper-middle-class homes typically don't, The Chicago Reporter has found. This allows districts with students from wealthier families to more often provide them with well-educated teachers, access to technology and programming in the fine arts, sports and extracurricular activities.

For instance, Western Springs School District 101--where a miniscule 0.1 percent of the students are low-income-provides regular art, music and gym classes even though the west suburban district spends just $7,424 per pupil, $2,720 less per pupil than Patton.

And, in districts with sky-high property values, like Northbrook School District 27, where per-pupil funding is $15,308 and just 0.6 percent of the students are low-income, fourth-graders have access to wireless laptop computers.

Meanwhile, Tasha Nelson, a parent and staff member at Patton, said students in some classes can't take textbooks home because there aren't enough for each student. "I worry about whether my children will be prepared for high school."

A cadre of education advocates point to Illinois' wide variation in school district per-pupil funding amounts--from $4,437.74 to $23,798.92--as evidence that the state's school funding formula creates inequalities. But these per pupil amounts only tell part of the story.

The per-pupil amounts take into account a school district's operating budget divided by its average daily attendance. Take out all the mandated expenses and the...