Symbolic Prejudice in Inner-ring Suburbs: Class Conflict, Race, and the Fight Over Public School Funding

• In Event: 2484 - Section on Sociology of Education Refereed Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 14. Neighborhoods and Education

Abstract

The challenges of public education in the urban core have been well articulated. However, the typical dichotomy of urban versus suburban schools neglects inner-ring suburbs, that are facing a shrinking tax base and race/economic tensions. I conduct a case study of Cleveland Heights, OH, a mixed race and mixed income inner-ring suburb, where in recent years the school district has become majority impoverished and majority Black. Thematic analysis of 13 semi-structured interviews with school principals, School Board members, and district administrators, coupled with GIS mapping of demographic changes in the district reveals the following: school administrators must simultaneously address the basic needs of an increasingly impoverished student population, while striving to compete with private and charter schools. Further, community micro-segregation creates perceptions of variable quality in the schools and competition for resources between schools. This study provides a unique, qualitative perspective on the current challenges plaguing inner-ring suburban schools.

Author

• Brittany R. Rabb, Case Western Reserve University