This research examines the localized, community-wide implications of a one-size-fits-all education policy. Across the US, there is a current push to improve teacher pay. In this analysis, I use several methodologies to study three questions about a teacher pay policy in Indiana requiring public school districts to increase minimum teacher salaries to $40,000 by the 2022-23 school year (Ind. Code § 20-28-9-26). In my first paper, I use mapping in GIS and spatial regressions in Stata and GeoDa to show that the policy, while successful in raising minimum salaries, failed to address disparities in salaries across and within locales. I argue for additional targeted policies that address spatial inequities across the urban-rural continuum. In my second paper, I explore how seemingly distinct state-level education policies overlap and intertwine in different ways through interviews with rural school leaders that shed light on a disparity masked in the original quantitative analysis: enrollment loss. Enrollment loss was cited as a barrier to raising salaries, and as many remote rural districts across the state are losing enrollment, district leaders are forced to strategically use their agency to navigate state, financial, and local pressures. In my last paper, I apply a statistical approach from the economic development discipline to estimate the impact of the increased teacher salaries on local economies and explore how disparities are compounded across local communities. I find that disinvestment from districts with enrollment loss not only places the school district at a disadvantage, but it also fails to address the underlying issue in which these communities have a difficult time retaining money. The findings of this dissertation underline the importance of creating educational policy that is aware of its impact on local communities.