Study: District Budget Practices Can Siphon Title I Aid From Poor

Federal money intended to help students from poor families is being spent to serve students who don’t qualify for the program, a new analysis suggests.

Teacher contracts and a loophole in the Title I compensatory education program combine to spread program dollars across districts, indirectly supplementing the well-paid teachers in schools whose students come from the wealthiest families, according to the in-depth review of how nine districts spend their money. Often, school administrators are unaware that Title I schools are being shortchanged, the researchers say.

“District budgeting practices systematically favor schools with the fewest educational challenges, to the detriment of those with the most,” says the report, released Aug. 18 by the Center on Reinventing Public Education at the University of Washington, located in Seattle. “In some cases, arcane district funds-allocation practices can actually funnel Title I funds to schools...