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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)
Brett Fischer (Fri,) studied this question.