Rodriguez vs. San Antonio Independent School District essays

Rodriguez vs. San Antonio Independent School District essays In the article Rich School, Poor Schools... J.B. Raskin explains the Supreme Courts attitude toward the mandate of Separate but Equal. Instead of defining this attitude in terms of race, however, Raskin explores its economic counterpart by explaining all aspects of the San Antonio Independent School District v. Rodriguez case. This case helps us to understand the economic barriers between towns (and therefore between schools) and the inequalities that exist because of the way we fund our schools. The article Its about time! from the Boston Globe helps to further develop and specify these disparities. The largest amount of revenue for public schools is received through property taxes. This, therefore, causes schools located in wealthier towns to provide more dollars spent per student and schools in poor towns to provide much less. The towns of Edgewood and Alamo Heights in Texas are good examples of the inequalities present and the controversy that can be found throughout the country. Business thrives in Alamo Heights, whereas in Edgewood, an urban neighborhood, commercial and industrial property is minimum. With a much larger population (22,000 students), Edgewood possesses the lowest property value per pupil in the metropolitan area at $5,960. Alamo Heights, on the other hand, only houses 5,000 students and offers over $49,000 property value per pupil. Rodriguez took this case to the Supreme Court to decide whether these inequalities could be allowed under the rights of the Constitution. According to Raskin, even though the Constitution does not specifically mention education, it is education that allows individuals to partake in other constitutional rights, such as speech, voting, and receiving information. Justice Powell ruled that this practice was legal and that just because there were disparities in spending levels, this does not prove that the schools were not prov...