No Spending without Representation: School Boards and the Racial Gap in Education Finance

Abstract

This paper provides causal evidence that greater minority representation on school boards translates into greater investment in minority students. Focusing on California school boards, I instrument for minority (specifically, Hispanic) representation using random ballot ordering and leverage new data from a statewide capital investment program to capture intradistrict resource allocations. I show that Hispanic board members invest the marginal dollar in high-Hispanic schools within their districts. High-Hispanic schools also exhibit gains in student achievement and decreased teacher turnover. I conclude that enhancing minority representation on school boards could help combat long-standing disparities in education. JEL (H75, I21, I22, I24, J15)