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HARRISBURG — The State Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Tuesday involving a school funding lawsuit filed by several school districts, including Wilkes-Barre Area. Wilkes-Barre Area Solicitor Ray Wendolowski said he and Superintendent Brian Costello are planning to make the trip to Philadelphia for the hearings.
The suit was filed in 2014 against the governor and legislative leaders. It contends the state is violating its constitutional duty to “support and maintain” a thorough and efficient system of public education.
Known on the docket as “Penn School District et al. v. Department of Education et al.,” the suit was filed by six school districts, seven parents of children, the Pennsylvania Association of Rural and Small Schools and the NAACP. The Wilkes-Barre Area School Board voted in June, 2014, to join the battle.
The legal work is being spearheaded by the Education Law Center and the Public Interest Law Center. Attorneys from the two organizations will present oral arguments Tuesday, trying to convince the justices to permit a full trial as they appeal a Commonwealth Court decision that dismissed the case last year.
The suit argues gross disparities in school funding violate equal protection guarantees in the state constitution. It notes heavy reliance on local property taxes to fund education means poorer districts can’t afford to spend as much as wealthy ones. Total spending per student ranges from $9,800 to $28,400 among Pennsylvania’s 500 school districts.
Similar lawsuits have failed in the past, but proponents believe this one has a better chance because the state has set new school standards without providing enough money to help districts meet those standards, and because the state has conducted studies that estimate how much per pupil spending is needed.
The state did implement a new funding formula for education since the suit was filed, but proponents note only a small fraction of total state education spending is paid out through that formula, and that the total being spent is still insufficient regardless of how it’s divided.