ERASE Racism Report Reveals Unequal Resources for Long Island Students Based on Race

Syosset, NY – May 23, 2022 – ERASE Racism today released a research report that examines the extent to which Long Island's school districts have different levels of educational resources based on a district's racial composition. The report – titled "Unequal Resources for Long Island Students Based on Race" – finds major differences in the distribution of those resources.

The report groups school districts based on race. Of the 125 districts, the report focuses on 66 districts, which fall into four categories, as follows: 11 intensely segregated (90-100% non-White), 10 majority Black and Hispanic (50-89%), five racially diverse (40-60% White), and 40 predominantly White (at least 70%).

The research reveals the following disparities:

• Intensely Segregated Districts have, on average, nearly $10,000 less in annual revenue per student than Predominantly White Districts.
• Intensely Segregated Districts have a higher number of students for every guidance counselor and social worker than predominantly White districts. For instance, on average, there is one guidance counselor for about every 1,226 students in intensely segregated districts. In contrast, on average, there is one guidance counselor for every 500 students in majority Black and Hispanic districts, 339 students in racially diverse districts, and 356 students in predominantly White districts.
• Intensely Segregated Districts have a median of 179 as their student-to-AP course ratio, meaning that there is an AP course for every 179 high school students in these districts. This number is more than double the median ratio for all districts (with at least one high school) and almost two times higher than 99, the 75th percentile ratio for all districts.
• Intensely Segregated Districts have a higher average rate of teacher turnover.
• Intensely Segregated Districts also have the highest average fiscal stress score of 19.70 of the four groups, according to data from the Office of the New York State Comptroller, which is more than twice the average score of predominantly White districts (8.30).
• Intensely Segregated Districts have a much higher average environmental stress score than all the district categories, with it being almost seven times the score of Predominantly White Districts, according to an analysis by the State Comptroller's Office. The indicators for environmental stress include a high percentage of economically disadvantaged students, high teacher turnover rate, a decrease in property value, a low budget vote approval rate, high percentage of English language learners, and large class sizes.

"There is a tendency for Long Islanders to judge the region's educational success based on the rankings of the most successful public schools, but that leaves the vast majority of the region's schools and students out of the equation," said ERASE Racism President Elaine Gross. "We sought instead to understand how equitably educational resources are allocated across school districts. We found that the differences in resource allocation are stark, depending on a district's racial composition. This must be addressed by state, county, and local authorities."

The report also reveals that the number of Intensely Segregated Districts has grown. There were five such districts in the 2003-2004 school year; in 2019-2020 there were 11 such districts. The percentage of Black and Hispanic students in these districts also grew in this period, from 28 to 37 percent for Black students and 13 to 36 percent for Hispanic students.

The cumulative and compounding effects of resource denial tied to increasing racial segregation reveal a startling conclusion: As long as students' access to equitable education depends on their race, Long Island public education cannot be characterized as "successful."

The ERASE Racism report includes recommendations on what should now be done. The full report is available here on. Additional information on ERASE Racism is available at www.eraseracismny.org.

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