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The Hechinger Report

Covering Innovation & Inequality in Education

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Districts in Debt

America’s school districts owe more than $400 billion in debt, a number that has grown rapidly in the last decade. The system is rife with inequities and the hidden financial pressures districts face can end up having a big impact on classrooms and kids.

Posted inNews

When school districts can’t raise funds for facilities

Avatar photo by Emily Richmond April 22, 2019September 17, 2021

This story about school debt is part of the series Districts in Debt, which examines the hidden financial pressures challenging American schools. EFFINGHAM, Kan. — In 2014, a cash-strapped school district in rural northeast Kansas turned to its residents with a plea: Pay a little more in taxes annually so we can renovate classrooms, update […]

Posted inNews

School districts are going into debt to keep up with technology

Amadou Diallo is a journalist, playwright and photographer whose writing has appeared in The New York Times, Wirecutter, The Atlantic, Al Jazeera America and The Christian Science Monitor. He has been a regular contributor to The Hechinger Report since 2017. A former musician and composer, he is a graduate of New York University and is always happy to weigh in on just which of Miles Davis’ classic quintets was the best. by Amadou Diallo April 22, 2019March 30, 2020
Students move between floors at Whitmore Lake High School, a spacious facility that is under capacity as enrollment has steadily declined in recent years.
Posted inElementary to High School

When school districts fall into debt and can’t get out

Avatar photo by Emily Richmond April 22, 2019March 30, 2020
Posted inNews

Short on financial knowledge, some school districts get bad deals on bonds

Avatar photoAvatar photo by Sarah Butrymowicz and Nichole Dobo April 22, 2019March 30, 2020
Posted inNews

How rising teacher pension costs hurt school districts

Avatar photo by Sarah Butrymowicz April 22, 2019November 23, 2020
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