Submitted by Allen Bradford
In the state of Texas, there has been a long standing law dealing with the financial distribution of the money given to the public school system. This law is known as Robin hood, which is the practice of collecting portions of property tax from wealthier areas and redistributing the money to poorer areas. This has become settled law since it was introduced in 1993 and survived a repeal in court, which has also dealt with any chance that the law could be overturned.
Living in Philadelphia for most of my life and going to boarding school I was able to see a stark contrast in how property tax affects schools in the surrounding area. For 8 years of my life I went to Milton Hershey School in Hershey, PA which is nothing but rolling green hills and fresh air. My school was privately funded by Hershey Corporation so we had the best of the best, but Hershey High School, which is a public school, was not far behind my school as far as features are concerned. Our gyms were sepearte buildings from the actual high school, which rivaled some university facilities. There were very few teachers in the are who had less than a masters degree. Aside from the normal teenage scuffles, violence in the area was non-existant, even with the city of Harrisburg so close by.
Milton Hershey School:
Hershey High School:
When I graduated from Milton Hershey to live in Philadelphia again, the reality smacks you in the face.
Martin Luther King High School:
Simon Gratz High School:
Where would you like to go to school? Where would you like to send your children? These pictures give completely different images of what schools in the same state, not 2 hours apart, look like. The majority of the children in these Philadelphia schools are black, I know because my younger sister was one of them. Where I went to school I was surrounded by whites in the school and the surrounding areas. The racial inequality due to where you live is prevalant in society today as it was when affirmitive action first came about. I know my school personally has over 4 billion dollars itself due to the sale of Hershey's Chocolate, but Hershey high school also reaps the benefits of this being in the town where Herhey's Chocolate was invented. The Philadelphia schools do not have a fraction of this money coming to them, rendering them stuck, looking as oppressive as the neighborhoods surrounding them. I have lived close to Gratz and King high schools, have been in the buildings, and it was enough for me to know I would never send my children there under any circumstances.
Back to the Robin Hood law in Texas, we have seen the funding per student of Philadelphia and its surrounding areas. So why can't more states take the approach Texas has taken? Taking extra money from these insanely rich areas will only help the struggling school system in Philadelphia or any other inner-city for that matter. Better education leads to better learning experiences, which in turn will improve the wealth gap situation for the next generation.
In the state of Texas, there has been a long standing law dealing with the financial distribution of the money given to the public school system. This law is known as Robin hood, which is the practice of collecting portions of property tax from wealthier areas and redistributing the money to poorer areas. This has become settled law since it was introduced in 1993 and survived a repeal in court, which has also dealt with any chance that the law could be overturned.
Living in Philadelphia for most of my life and going to boarding school I was able to see a stark contrast in how property tax affects schools in the surrounding area. For 8 years of my life I went to Milton Hershey School in Hershey, PA which is nothing but rolling green hills and fresh air. My school was privately funded by Hershey Corporation so we had the best of the best, but Hershey High School, which is a public school, was not far behind my school as far as features are concerned. Our gyms were sepearte buildings from the actual high school, which rivaled some university facilities. There were very few teachers in the are who had less than a masters degree. Aside from the normal teenage scuffles, violence in the area was non-existant, even with the city of Harrisburg so close by.
Milton Hershey School:
Hershey High School:
When I graduated from Milton Hershey to live in Philadelphia again, the reality smacks you in the face.
Martin Luther King High School:
Back to the Robin Hood law in Texas, we have seen the funding per student of Philadelphia and its surrounding areas. So why can't more states take the approach Texas has taken? Taking extra money from these insanely rich areas will only help the struggling school system in Philadelphia or any other inner-city for that matter. Better education leads to better learning experiences, which in turn will improve the wealth gap situation for the next generation.
I definitely agree with you. Not only is it terrible to see how obviously unfair education is in the America (the land of what is suppose to be equality for all), but even more so to have the government know of this yet continue to let this happen. I understand that hershey co. worked hard for what they earned and deserve to give their money to wherever they desire, but not many people realize that these poor communities and especially lower class families doesn't have much of a choice but to settle in those neighborhoods. Allowing a child to have their education robbed from lack of funding and no effort of helping is just morally wrong. The Robin Hood law should be taken into consideration to all states for it's only fair if we want every child to have equal education and future opportunities.
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