Donation statistics presented to a special committee Friday by Shawnee Mission School District administrators showed a lopsided giving advantage when it comes to the district’s wealthiest schools.
But whether that disparity is resulting in more staff positions or better educational outcomes for those schools gifted more money wasn’t clear. It’s also not immediately clear if the district plans to do anything to address the gaps among schools. Over the previous three school years, about 80% of donations dedicated to a particular school — funds brought in through traditional PTA fundraisers, as well as more direct gifts like checks written by parents and grandparents — went to schools with less than 20% of students on free or reduced lunch, according to administrators.
That is nearly $2.4 million going to 16 schools. By comparison, 31 other schools in the district that have 20% or more of their students on free or reduced lunch received just shy of $550,000 combined. The differences grow more stark when broken down by feeder pattern. Schools in the Shawnee Mission East feeder pattern led donation totals by a wide margin, receiving $2.15 million overall. That’s more than twice the district’s four other high school feeder patterns combined. SM North’s feeder pattern was a distant second with $250,000 in donations, followed by SM Northwest with $195,000, SM South with $149,000 and SM West with $110,000.
Source: Johnson County Post
