A Critical Race Theory Analysis Counterstory of Illinois' Lewis E
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Illinois State University ISU ReD: Research and eData Theses and Dissertations 6-16-2014 Inequitable School Funding In Illinois Colorblind Or Blindfolded: A Critical Race Theory Analysis Counterstory Of Illinois' Lewis E. V. Spagnolo Mariette Yevette Cheatam Illinois State University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/etd Part of the Educational Administration and Supervision Commons Recommended Citation Cheatam, Mariette Yevette, "Inequitable School Funding In Illinois Colorblind Or Blindfolded: A Critical Race Theory Analysis Counterstory Of Illinois' Lewis E. V. Spagnolo" (2014). Theses and Dissertations. 235. https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/etd/235 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ISU ReD: Research and eData. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ISU ReD: Research and eData. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INEQUITABLE SCHOOL FUNDING IN ILLINOIS COLORBLIND OR BLINDFOLDED: A CRITICAL RACE THEORY ANALYSIS COUNTERSTORY OF ILLINOIS’ LEWIS E. v. SPAGNOLO Mariette Y. Cheatam 339 Pages December 2014 Despite the Illinois school funding formula continuing to be one of the most staggeringly unequal in the nation, the Illinois State Supreme Court excludes school finance from judicial review. Although entities such as the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), which is the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education , continue to both collect and analyze education results along racial and ethnic lines, many studies leave out the importance of racism in their analysis. In its search for the colorblind doctrine, this critical race theory (CRT) study focuses on Lewis E. v. Spagnolo, 710 N.E.2d 798 (1999) . It continues the work of Bell, Crenshaw, Delgado, Orfield, Stefancic, Yosso and others who investigate minority student cause and effects. Findings indicate the colorblind doctrine as obstructive in the struggle for PK-12 funding justice. Offering a view “from the bottom”, facts indicate stock stories as contributors to so called race neutral school finance policy. INEQUITABLE SCHOOL FUNDING IN ILLINOIS COLORBLIND OR BLINDFOLDED: A CRITICAL RACE THEORY ANALYSIS COUNTERSTORY OF ILLINOIS’ LEWIS E. v. SPAGNOLO MARIETTE Y. CHEATAM A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF EDUCATION Department of Educational Administration and Foundations ILLINOIS STATE UNIVERSITY 2014 Copyright 2014 Mariette Y. Cheatam INEQUITABLE SCHOOL FUNDING IN ILLINOIS COLORBLIND OR BLINDFOLDED: A CRITICAL RACE THEORY ANALYSIS COUNTER STORY OF ILLINOIS’ LEWIS E. v. SPAGNOLO MARIETTE Y. CHEATAM COMMITTEE MEMBERS: Elizabeth T. Lugg, Chair Nicholas D. Hartlep Diane R. Dean Lydia Kyei-Blankson ACKNOWLEDGMENTS No one knows, like a poor black mom, the sacrifice and dedication it takes to instill strength and hope in children born to areas where children are seen as worthless and unimportant. Thank you mom and both Big Moms, for everything you are and everything I hope to become. Auntie Eloise, I thank you for your unconditional love and unwavering support. To my sisters (which include Carolyn) and my children, thank you for your patience. To my Lake County Cohort family member Ms. Maribeth Carlini, I may have quit if not for you. Especially recognized is my dissertation chair and advisor Dr. Elizabeth Lugg. Without your guidance I felt lost. Dr. Nicholas Hartlep you are a CRT guru. Dr. Diane Dean your feedback was invaluable and Dr. Lydia Kyie-Blankson you eased my fears. Reverend Ezell Robins I am eternally and immeasurably indebted to you. Finally, this is dedicated posthumously to my dad, Mr. Earl W. Hudson III, a man who worked two jobs but still came home and sat on the back porch to read with me. No matter how tired or hungry, Dad you were there sitting on the back stoop with steel toed work boots and work soiled clothes. I understand now why you forced me to read through blurred teary eyes. Sometimes my eyes were so filled with tears I could barely see the words on the page. You would say, “You made a mistake start over from the beginning. Do it perfect this time. Now that’s my Funny Face.” You were my driving force and I thank you for being there to push. I love you! M.Y.C. i CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENT i CONTENTS ii TABLES vii FIGURES viii CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION TO THE RESEARCH 1 Research Problem 1 Rational for Research 4 Importance of the Topic 11 The Purpose of the Study 14 Theory to Practice 15 Definitions 16 Limitations 20 Assumptions 21 Research Questions 21 II. LITERATURE REVIEW 23 Introduction 23 Illinois School Segregation from Historical Perspective 28 East St. Louis Riot of 1917 36 East St. Louis, Illinois City Schools 42 Scott Bibb v. the Mayor and Common Council of the City of Alton 233 Ill., 542, 1897 43 1969’s Gautreaux et al. v. CHA and 1976 Hills v. Gautreaux 46 Illinois School Finance Story 51 The Property Tax Effect 51 Relationship of Revenue and Effect on Spending 59 ii The History of Critical Race Theory 62 Conceptual Framework 67 Definition of Critical Race Theory 69 Basic Tenets of CRT 71 Centrality of Whiteness Racism Endemic to American Society 73 Whiteness as Property Historical Connections of Property Ownership 75 CRT Connects Whiteness as Property 79 Skepticism Toward Legal Claim of Neutrality 82 Colorblind Myth 84 Recognition of the Knowledge of People of Color 86 Counter Storytelling 87 Interdisciplinary Perspectives 89 Eliminating Racial Oppression or a Commitment to Social Justice 89 Intersectionality 90 Interest Convergence 91 Using Tenets to Frame the Study 91 Critical Race Methodology 92 Introduction 92 Focus Categories for Past Research 94 Economics of Education Finance 96 School Law and Legal History 98 San Antonio Independent School District v. Rogriguez 100 Rose v. Council for Better Education, Inc. 102 Illinois Court Battles 104 Introduction 104 McInnis v. Shapiro 105 Committee for Educational Rights v. Edgar 107 Lewis E. v. Spagnolo, 710 N, E. 2d 798 (1999) 108 Chicago Urban League v. State of Illinois 113 Carr v. Koch 116 Understanding Issues Underlying Equity and Adequacy 117 History of Politics and the Common Good 119 The Education Movement 120 State Constitutions 123 iii Equity Verses Adequacy the Courts Choose 127 Pivotal Court Cases in Equity v Adequacy 129 Serrano v. Priest 132 Mcinnis and Rose Cases for Adequacy 134 Montoy v. State, No. 99 C 1738, 2003 WL 22902963 135 Robles-Wong et al. v. State of California 2011 137 The Tides That Bind 139 Minority Education 141 Gap Analysis 145 Conclusion 148 III. METHODOLOGY 152 Research Objective 153 Research Questions 155 Research Framework 157 Epistemology 158 Theoretical Perspectives 160 Addressing Deficiencies in Past Research 164 Qualitative Data Usage 166 Critical Race Theory Methods Research 169 CRT the Voice of the People 171 Data Collection 171 Tenets of CRT as a Methodology for Case Study Analysis 171 Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion Method for Case Analysis 174 CRT Application to IRAC Method 175 Issue 176 Rule 176 Analysis 176 Conclusion 177 Data Analysis and CRT Applications 178 Uncovering or Discovering the Stock Story 183 iv Using Counter Storytelling and Narrative Methodology in CRT 184 Role of the Researcher 185 Conclusion 189 IV. ANALYSIS 192 Introduction 192 Problem Statement Review 192 Research Question Review 194 Purpose Statement Review 196 Placing Race at the Center of Critique 197 Stock Stories as Justification 198 Minority Places and Spaces as the Setting 201 Brownfields 204 Deindustrialization and Railroad Restructuring 206 Criminality, Meritocracy and Minority Deficiency Stock Stories 209 Stock Stories of Criminality 211 Stock Stories of Meritocracy 219 Hiding Behind Minority Deficiency Stock Stories 222 Student Statistics Stereotypes and the Minority Deficiency Stock Story 226 Dispelling Minority Parental Deficiency With Counterstories 229 Counterstories Redirect Our Focus 235 Lifting the Veil of Criminality and Minority Deficiency Stock Stories 237 East St. Louis Summary 241 Finding Stock Stories Through IRAC Analysis 244 Government Intervention and Discovery Through Facts 244 Stating the Issues 245 Stating the Rule of Law 246 Analysis of the Law in Light of the Facts 248 Overall Conclusions Indicate Damage to Society 252 Racism Contributes to Disadvantage 252 Concentrated Poverty, Geographic Isolation and Diminished Quality of Education 256 v Maintenance of the Status Quo and Lack of Financial Support 259 Legal Contributions to Maintenance of the Status Quo 263 Are Illinois School Funding Policies Truly Colorblind? 266 Counterstories and Centrality of Experiential Knowledge 271 Maintenance of the Status Quo Neglected Focus On Interdisciplinary Perspectives 275 Commitment to Justice 278 V. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 284 Summary 284 Conclusions 287 Recommendations for the Illinois School Finance Change Model 295 Adequacy Measures 301 Poverty and Race 303 Illinois Third Grade Reading Scores 305 Limitations of Solution 308 Getting It Right 308 Implications for Future Research 312 Concluding Remarks 313 REFERENCES 318 vi TABLES Table Page 1. Lewis E. v. Spagnolo IRAC Template 175 2. Applied Critical Race Theory Model for Qualitative Legal Case Analysis 179 3. Lewis E. v. Spagnolo Analysis Research Matrix 196 4. Illinois School District Poverty Level Quintiles FY2013 302 vii FIGURES Figure Page 1. Mob Stopping Street Car, East St. Louis Riot, July 2, 1917 37 2. The Front Page of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch of July 3, 1917 38 3. Mineola McGee a Victim of the Riot 39 4. Population Trends African-American Chicago 2005-2009 47 5. K-12 OECD 2009 Spending Per Student 53 6. Illinois Revenues Support Levels and Relative Shares FY 2011 55 7. State of Illinois, St. Clair County the Home of East St. Louis School District 189 56 8. East St. Louis District 189 Racial Demographics 57 9. Comparative Accomplishments for Student Academic Testing 61 10. Convergence of Broad Topics in the Discussion of Equity and Adequacy 96 11.