School Finance

Wealth inequality is a phenomenon which has been in existence throughout the entirety of human history. Whether or not one regards an unequal distribution of wealth as fair or just, one thing is certain – it yields inefficiencies in the marketplace. In particular industries, these inefficiencies can be so severe as to result in market failure. The market failure this paper focuses on and attempts to address is the market of education, specifically with regard to high schools in Connecticut. Public goods arise from market failures, where the government steps in and becomes a solution to this failure in the market. In this case, however, the government has not properly remedied this issue as Connecticut clearly faces an unequal distribution of funds with regard to education. The Connecticut Coalition of Justice in Education Funding (CCJEF), in its ongoing court trial against Governor Rell, advocates on behalf of those school districts who face this inequitable distribution and are forced to deal with its unfortunate consequences. The main focus of this paper is to establish whether or not Stamford should be part of the court case.

Graduation Rates Tableau Visualizations