The Rural 900
We have identified the 900 rural and small town school districts with the highest student poverty rate (900 because that is about 10% of all rural and small town districts). They enroll almost 1.3 million students.
The Census Bureau estimates that more than 37 percent of them live in poverty, higher than the estimated poverty rate for Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston, Baltimore, and most other urban districts.
There is no racial majority among these rural and small town students – 28 percent are African American, 23 percent Hispanic, 8 percent Native American, and 40% white. Over 70 percent qualify by reason of family income for federally subsidized meals at school.
- Of these 900 highest poverty rural districts, 797 lose money to number weighting. The other 103 break even. Together, they lose $54.5 million. Some examples:
- Deming Schools, New Mexico, with 41% poverty, loses $772,300, or about $342 per disadvantaged student.
- UMO N HO N Nation Public Schools, on the Omaha Indian Reservation in Nebraska, with 44% poverty, loses $71,400, or about $374 per disadvantaged student.
- Dillon School District #2 in South Carolina’s high poverty “Corridor of Shame,” with 36% poverty, loses $304,400, or about $225 per disadvantaged student.
- Robeson County Schools in North Carolina, with 40% poverty, loses $1,958,000, or about $189 per disadvantaged student.
- Edcouch-Elsa Independent School District in South Texas with 61% poverty loses $448,200, or about $150 peer disadvantaged student.
Click Here to view a map of the Rural 900 broken down into regions
