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A group of advocates and school districts that includes Wilkes-Barre Area has filed an appeal with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in a suit pushing for fairer state education funding.The suit, known as Penn School District et al. v. Department of Education et al. contends the state legislature has failed to adequately and equitably fund public education, violating the state constitution.The case was dismissed by a lower court, and the appeal argues the Supreme Court justices should order a full trial.The Wilkes-Barre Area School Board voted in June, 2014, to join the suit filed by six school districts, seven parents of children, the Pennsylvania Association of Rural and Small Schools and the NAACP. The legal work is being spearheaded by the Education Law Center and the Public Interest Law Center.In a nutshell, the suit argues gross disparities in school funding violate equal protection guarantees in the state constitution, and a legislative funding plan that &#8220;bears no relationship to the actual cost of preparing students&#8221; violates the &#8220;education clause,&#8221; requiring the state to provide resources necessary to help students meet state academic standards.The appeal notes the lack of equitable state funding means wealthy districts with strong real estate tax bases spend far more than poor districts with weak tax bases. As a result, total spending per student ranges from $9,800 to $28,400 among Pennsylvania&#8217;s 500 school districts.The suit also notes districts are restricted in raising local taxes by state law, meaning poor districts can&#8217;t increase spending to match wealthier districts even if they want to.While similar legal arguments have failed in the past, this one contends the state itself has essentially proven the legislature under funds public schools. The suit notes there are new, tougher state academic standards and a growing importance put on standardized tests, creating a clear yardstick with which to measure adequate funding.The suit also cites a 2007 &#8220;costing out&#8221; study ordered by the legislature to determine how much money each district needed to meet state standards and test result requirements. That study concluded 471 of 500 school districts spent less than needed to make sure students met proficiency targets in tests.And the suit points out that, while the state adopted a new funding formula to fix inequalities found in the costing out study, that formula was abandoned in 2011. Education spending &#8220;in Pennsylvania today remains approximately $580 million below pre-2011 levels and billions below the levels the costing-out study found necessary to prepare students to meet state standards.&#8221;The lower court dismissed the case primarily by determining it was a political question, not a judicial one, and thus &#8220;non-justiciable,&#8221; or not a matter for the courts to decide.The appeal argues the lower court ignored prior court case rulings that should have applied while relying on one case that no longer is applicable, and the political question doctrine &#8220;is a narrow exception to the general rule that Pennsylvania&#8217;s constitution should be construed, when possible, to permit &#8230; review of legislative action alleged to be unconstitutional.&#8221;<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta>By Mark Guydishmguydish@www.timesleader.com</bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta>Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish</shirttailMeta></div>

Group that includes W-B Area School District appeals funding lawsuit to state’s top court