PPS Divestment by Neighborhood, Illustrated

I've written before about how Portland Public Schools' open transfer policy causes segregation and divestment of state tax revenue from poor neighborhoods and funnels it to wealthier neighborhoods. I've called for a New Deal for PPS that will and redirect state funding to reinvest in these neighborhoods.

My harping on these points has caused some confusion. After all, doesn't PPS actually spend more per student in the poorer schools? Yes, of course they do. But the point is that as families take advantage of PPS's open transfer policy, millions of dollars follow them out of poorer neighborhoods, landing in the wealthier, whiter neighborhoods. Left in their wake are segregated schools with fewer "specials", electives and extra-curricular activities, and under constant threat of closure, No Child Left Behind sanctions, and "reorganization" (read charter schools, alternative schools, and ill-advised grant-funded experiments).

Today on my blog, I published an illustrated map of Portland by ZIP code, demonstrating this pattern of divestment.