The Alchemy of School Capital: California School Bond Funds and District Human Resources

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 8
  In Roundtable Session: Allocating Resources for Success and Equity: Examinations of Funding Policies and Implementation

Abstract

Unequal resources yield persistent racial and socioeconomic inequality in educational opportunities. Teacher experience plays a crucial role in student learning, yet is lower in high poverty schools. Do capital funds reduce inequality of teacher experience by race/ethnicity/SES? Capital funds should improve teacher experience more in schools with higher proportions of Black/Hispanic/low-SES students by attracting/retaining better quality teachers. Dynamic regression discontinuity models estimate effects of narrowly passing a school district bond elections on district inequality of teacher experience. Placebo checks and density tests assess validity of the RD approach. Results indicate that capital funds increased years of teacher experience, reduced student:teacher ratios, and increased racial equality of student:teacher ratios. Subsidized school bonds may be levers to reduce racial/SES inequality in education.

Author

• Emily Rauscher, Brown University