By Evan Grossman | Watchdog.org
The Commonwealth Court spiked a school-funding lawsuit this week, ruling that education spending is not in its wheelhouse.
“This is a legislative policy determination,” Judge Dan Pellegrini wrote, referencing state Supreme Court rulings that eliminate any role for the courts in officiating school funding questions.
NOT OUR DEPARTMENT: Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court rejected a lawsuit seeking to pressure state lawmakers to overhaul how schools are funded.
The suit alleged that legislative leaders, state education officials and the governor violated their constitutional obligation to provide a public education system that gives all children in Pennsylvania an equal opportunity to meet state-imposed academic standards and thrive in today’s world.
“We are disappointed that the Commonwealth Court did not address this claim in any meaningful way,” said Maura McInerney, senior staff attorney at the Education Law Center-PA. “We believe the Supreme Court will set the law right.”
In November, the Education Law Center and the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia filed a suit on behalf of six school districts, seven parents, the Pennsylvania Association of Rural and Small Schools and the NAACP against state officials to change the way schools are funded.
“We will continue to argue, on behalf of all Pennsylvanians, that the courts have a role in protecting our state’s constitutional right to a thorough and efficient system of public education,” said Michael Churchill, of counsel at the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia, “and that the Legislature does not have carte blanche to ignore the funding necessary for students to succeed.”
The plaintiff school districts include the William Penn School District, the Panther Valley School District, the School District of Lancaster, the Greater Johnstown School District, the Wilkes-Barre Area School District and the Shenandoah Valley School District. The parent plaintiffs are filing on behalf of children enrolled in one of those districts, as well as the School District of Philadelphia.
They will now take their case to Pennsylvania Supreme Court, though similar suits have failed in the past.
In 1999, the School District of Philadelphia tried to sue the state for not providing it with enough funding. Commonwealth Court turned that lawsuit aside and the high court zapped the district’s appeal.
“We see no reason why the plaintiffs should pursue an appeal, which would needlessly place additional costs upon taxpayers to continue to defend an issue that is well settled,” Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati said. “The Legislature continues to engage in discussions and examine the best ways to provide fair funding and outstanding educational opportunities for students across our Commonwealth.”
Chief among those measures is the work being done by the Basic Education Funding Commission, a 15-member bipartisan unit of state senators and representatives. The commission is responsible for developing and recommending to the General Assembly a new formula for distributing state funding for basic education to Pennsylvania school districts.
Its recommendations are due this summer and will likely be made public before a Supreme Court appeal in the school-funding case would be heard.