Stretching the School Safety Net.

The article looks West Oakland Middle School (WOMS) in Oakland, California, where economic austerity has limited student services. Topics discussed include the primarily low-income students WOMS services, how Proposition 13, made California law in 1978, limited property tax increases and therefore school budgets, and WOMS's low attendance rates and test scores. Legislators' threats to close so-called failing schools and Title I of the U.S. Elementary and Secondary Education Act which attempts to mitigate students' poverty through additional school funding are also considered.