Redwood City Remains ‘Have-Not’ School District

An education report from Oakland-based education advocacy group, Education Trust-West, released last week lambasts California’s funding formula that inconsistently provides inequitable amounts for neighboring school districts, according to the Mercury News. This creates districts of "haves" and "have-nots."

The received $4,972 pupil in 2011-2012 while the Woodside Elementary District received $18,894 in 2009-2010, the latest data available.

Over the course of their K-8 career, Redwood City students will have received nearly $100,000 less spent on their education than their neighbors. Yet they will all ultimately end up in the same . 

The Redwood City School District is a revenue limit district, whose funding is a combination of property taxes and state aid, so it relies more heavily on state funding compared to basic aid districts like Woodside Elementary, which can rely solely on the large flow of funding from their high property taxes.

Because the state has continued to cut funding across the board, revenue limit districts have been hit the hardest. Thus, the district has on the June ballot, asking for residents to pay an annual fee of $67 for the next five years. It is the only district in the surrounding area that to generate additional revenue.

This would generate $1.7 million annually.

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