Details about this story

• Source: Chicago Tribune
• Date: February 04, 2007
• URL: Read the story
• Bylines: Diane Rado
• Topics: Education
• Data Types: State Data
• Description/Excerpt: In an education world of haves and have-nots, Chicago's suburbs have some of the most glaring disparities in school spending in Illinois, a Tribune analysis has found. The differences between districts with high property values and poorer districts in the region are profound and show up vividly in spending per pupil. Lake, Cook and DuPage Counties are among the five counties in the state with the largest gaps in spending, when the district with the most property wealth is compared with the district with the least. Of all counties, Lake County had the biggest gap for grade school districts in 2005. Affluent Rondout School District 72 in Lake Forest spent $22,508 per student, compared with $8,675 in Zion Elementary School District 6, where property values are dramatically lower. Family wealth also correlates with school spending. The Tribune found that about 80 percent of grade school districts with large low-income populations spent less than the state average of $8,765 per pupil for elementary districts in 2005.