Chapter 3: The Unequal Impact of the Great Recession on the Instructional Capacity of Rural Schools

The investment made by federal, state, and local governments in U.S. public schools is, by any measure, substantial. Collectively, more than $560 billion are spent to educate our nation’s children in Kindergarten¹ through twelfth grade— roughly $11,300 for every pre-K–12 student in the country. Of course, these resources are not allocated evenly, with state averages ranging from just over $6,000 in Utah to more than $19,000 in New York. But while state averages are salient and illustrative, the within-state differences can be a telling tale of the (in) equitable distribution of educational opportunity within the same state. This can be particularly apparent when documenting within-state differences in investment among urban, suburban, and rural areas. This chapter focuses attention on these inter-and intrastate resources—resources closely related to the core functioning of schools—with special attention given to rural communities and inequalities.