Trouble at Home

I grew up in the Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York, a beautiful part of the country. Not far from where I went to high school, Skaneateles, is located Syracuse, home to a terrific university. Like other parts of America, Syracuse was an industrial hub up to the 1950's and '60s. That's all changed.

A new report out of Rutgers University paints a gloomy picture for the Black and Hispanic populations of Syracuse. In fact these population groups have the highest poverty rates in the nation's 100 largest metropolitan areas in the United States. Sadly, the trend is growing at an alarming rate as it is in the country as a whole.

There are 30 neighborhoods in Syracuse that are suffering from what is referred to as "extreme poverty." This condition is one in which at least 40% of the inhabitants is living in poverty.

The causes and implications are many and I will get into some of these in the coming days. As it relates to the work of Schools Count, there is little doubt that high poverty rates have devastating consequences in terms of having the necessary monies to properly fund schools.

Dick