Critical school finance: special volume commentary

ABSTRACT

This collection of papers in this special volume explains how school funding policies and community policies perpetuate racial and socioeconomic inequities in the United States, Canada, and Australia. These papers highlight two important research themes in school finance that have been missing: (a) the role that race plays in creating enduring educational funding disparities and by extension school facilities; and (b) the danger that privatisation poses for meeting the resource needs of less affluent and minoritised communities. This commentary explains how these papers contribute to the burgeoning field of critical school finance.

KEYWORDS:

• School facilities
• school funding formulas
• fundraising
• marketisation
• privatisation
• critical race theory

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Preston C. Green

Preston C. Green III is the John and Maria Neag Professor of Urban Education and Professor of Educational Leadership and Law at the University of Connecticut. His research focuses on the legal issues surrounding charter schools, school vouchers, student rights, school desegregation, and school finance.