Pulling Back the Curtain on School-Level Expenditures: A Quantitative Examination of Budget Choices in New York City Public Schools

• Published in: Journal of education finance 2023-03, Vol.48 (4), p.379-404
• Main Author: Batt, Lena M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Analysis; Disparate impact; Economic aspects; Education; Educational aspects; Educational equalization; Finance; Government finance; Laws, regulations and rules; Public schools
• ISSN: 0098-9495; 1944-6470; 1944-6470
• DOI: 10.1353/jef.2023.a913133

Funding disparities between states and districts have been repeatedly documented, but scholars have put much less focus on resource inequities at the school level, a crucial gap in the research. In this study, I investigate school-level fiscal decision making in New York City public schools, a district that provides a unique look into expenditures due to their robust budget reporting and greater principal autonomy. Using latent profile analysis, I identified three distinct profiles or classes of schools based on their budget allocations. I then mapped administrative data onto the three classes to see how they varied by school and student demographics. School grade level was the main determinant of expenditure choices, with two classes primarily composed of elementary schools and the third mostly high schools. Race, socioeconomic status, ability, and language differentiated the two elementary classes and led to different expenditure choices, such as one spending more of their budget on paraprofessionals and books. The more affluent elementary class with less students of color spent more on experienced teachers, a persistent source of intradistrict inequity.