The use of property taxes is not a new concept as a way to pay for public schools in the United States, but it definitely is a unique system.  In fact, many say that it is the prominent reason as to why the funding gap exists in the first place.  There is a strong belief that says that it inherently “produces vast inequities in resources.”  It does this because as house values increase, such as in wealthy neighborhoods, so then does the funding that is attached to those neighborhoods and the schools they belong to (Engel 20).  This also would lead to the recognition that the opposite effect happens in lower socioeconomic status neighborhoods where the house values are not as high, leaving less funding that is tunneled into the school districts to which those houses belong.  What is seen, however, is a two-part gap—one within each individual state and between districts and then one between the states.

    Two-Part Gap

          Gap within individual states

·        In the chart below, the differences between the districts in each state with the highest and lowest poverty concentrations are staggering.

                -New York has a difference of -$2,040.

                                     -Illinois has a difference of -$2,026.

          Gap in between states

·        New Jersey has a positive gap of $1,260, meaning students in high poverty districts receive $1,260 more than their counterparts in the lowest poverty districts.

·        Illinois and New York, however, have a negative gap, which shows that high poverty districts receive $2,026 and $2,040 respectively, less than the lower poverty districts.