A Villain Origin Story: Localized School Funding and the Architecture of Inequality - Matthew Gardner Kelly. Dividing the Public: School Finance and the Creation of Structural Inequality. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2024. 270 pp. 145. 00 (cloth), ISBN 9781501773259; 26. 95 (paper), ISBN 9781501773266.

Key Points

• To explore the relationship between localized school funding and the emergence of structural inequality in education.
• Analyzes the effects of funding policies on public schools
• Examines case studies of various funding models
• Utilizes historical and socioeconomic data to investigate disparities
• Identifies significant disparities in educational quality based on funding
• Finds that localized funding mechanisms contribute to systemic inequities
• Highlights the impact of socioeconomic status on educational outcomes

Abstract