With the school year now underway in the Upstate, a new study has been released ranking the state's most and least equitable school districts. The research firm Wallethub released their findings earlier this week.
According to the study, several of the most equitable districts statewide are in the Upstate area. Spartanburg County ranked in the top 10, with District One at the top of the list. Spartanburg District 2 and District 6 were 9th and 10th, respectively.
Oconee County was 4th among the most equitable. A high ranking official in the district (who spoke with me under the condition of anonymity) credited the district's equity, in large part to the high property tax base in the County's lake area communities. Anderson County District One ranked in the top 20, coming in at #16.
The State's largest District, Greenville County ranked near the middle of the pack, coming in 34th of the state's 79 public school districts. Officials form several districts that I contacted either declined to comment or did not respond. The study says, that the state's low income districts are underfunded by an average of $6,700 per student.