Citation for above image: (CTU plans May Day rally calling for more school funding. (2017, April 28). Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved May 17, 2018, from https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/ctu-plans-may-day-rally-calling-for-more-school-funding/)

The Problem:

This website overviews the issue of lack of public school funding. As we all know, Betsy DeVos and the Trump administration have the intention to adjust public school funding. Thus, this is both a relevant and important topic in education. Betsy DeVos and the Trump administration is specifically a public supporter of school choice; however, in an American education system where tax revenues of households directly fund public schools, school choice may further exacerbate funding inequalities between schools in wealthy neighborhoods and poorer neighborhoods, because as students from failing schools begin to choose to attend other schools, this can have the unintended consequence of resources being taken away from schools that need it most (Klein 2018; Michelman 2017). Thus, this website seeks to both shed light on this issue as well as bring awareness to grassroots organizations that are fighting for this cause around the country.

The City:

I will be specifically evaluating grassroots community responses to the issue of lacking school funding in Houston, TX. I was born and raised in Texas, and thus am interested in evaluating how organizations in Texas are fighting for this cause. Originally I was interested in evaluating organizations in Austin, where I grew up, however, I ultimately decided after conducting preliminary research that there were more grassroots organizations of interest related to this specific topic in the city of Houston.

References:

Klein, A. (2018, February 28). Betsy DeVos Wants to Direct Federal Funds to School choice,STEM, Workforce Readiness. Education Week. Retrieved from http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2018/02/betsy_devos_competitive_grant_priorities_choice_final.html?qs=devos+funding.

Michelman, B. (2017). Vouchers, School Privatization, and the Threat to Public Education. Policy Priorities: An Information Brief from ASCD Volume 23. 1-7. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/newsletters/policy-priorities/vol23/num03/Vouchers,-School-Privatization,-and-the-Threat-to-Public-Education.aspx.