Erie, PA is relevant

schools in low-income communities in many states don't have the resources to give students access to opportunities that are available in wealthier areas. This well known fact is most often talked about in the passive voice, as though it’s a “new, unavoidable normal.” But it’s important to know who to blame for the financial calamities. "The problem is high reliance on local funding in the state," Michael Churchill an attorney at the Public Interest Law Center, told me in a phone interview. "Places with a poor local tax base like Erie can't generate enough revenue."

Sound familiar?