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No, Baltimore schools are not under-funded

                                                            

Baltimore City Public Schools spend the same amount per pupil as nearby Montgomery County Public Schools — the latter having one of the best reputations of any school district in America.

The death of Freddie Gray and the resulting riots have shone a spotlight on poverty in Baltimore. Among the seemingly-endless list of causes given by pundits for that poverty is the lack of funding for education in Baltimore. "Daily Show" host Jon Stewart, the Maryland State Education Association and other liberals have called for more education funding in Baltimore.

But although a quality public education may be hard to come by in Baltimore, a lack of school funding is not the cause.

Over at Marginal Revolution, Alex Tabarrok notes that Baltimore City Public Schools receives 27 percent more funding than Fairfax County Public Schools in nearby Virginia, which are also regarded as one of the best public school districts in the country. Other government data show the Baltimore district spends 63 percent more than average per-pupil spending in the country, and 23 percent more than average per-pupil spending in Maryland.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is pushing for a school choice program that would help needy students get access to a high-quality education. The program would allow businesses that donate to scholarship organizations to claim a tax credit. Up to half of business' contributions to scholarship organizations would be reimbursed, with no more than $5 million in reimbursements allowed statewide.

Only donations to organizations that provide financial assistance to students who attend nonpublic schools would be eligible. The hope is that, by encouraging businesses to donate to scholarship organizations, the state government can help more students escape failing public schools.

The Baltimore City Public School district is actually one of the highest-funded districts in the country, on a per-pupil basis. Rather than focus on total funding, concerned Baltimore parents might want to focus on how the cash-flushed school system spends its money.

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