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A new analysis in support of a law suit seeking alleging inadequate state funding for public education calculates that Hazleton Area School District is among the top five districts getting shortchanged on a per-pupil basis, while it ranks Greater Nanticoke Area as 15th.
				Several advocacy groups, school districts (including Wilkes-Barre Area) and individuals have been fighting in court for what they argue is sufficient funding from the state for all students. Filed in 2014, the suit contends the state is failing to provide a &ldquo;thorough and efficient&rdquo; system of education guaranteed by the state constitution.
				Matthew Gardner Kelly, assistant professor of education at Pennsylvania State University, did a data analysis to back up that claim. The study reviewed state spending per district, compared to how much the district would need to be adequately funded based on a formula spelled out in a 2008 report commissioned by the state legislature.
				The study calculated annual shortfall overall and per student in each school district.
				Reading School District, long battling financial difficulties, had the biggest disparity with an $8,592 shortfall per pupil. But Hazleton Area, Luzerne County&rsquo;s largest district in both size and enrollment, wasn&rsquo;t too far behind, ranking fifth with a shortfall of $6,618.
				Greater Nanticoke Area had the 15th biggest disparity at $5,366 per student. Other Luzerne County districts, their rank and shortfall were: Hanover Area, 43rd, $4,437; Pittston Area, 57th, $4,160; Wilkes-Barre Area, 79th, $3,797; Wyoming Area, 105th, $3,501; Wyoming Valley West, 139th, $3,222. Northwest Area, 148th, $3,135; Crestwood School District, 167th, $2,896; Dallas, 207th, $2,657; and Lake-Lehman, 265th, $2,098,
				All told, the 11 districts are being shortchanged by a total of $191 million, according to report calculations.
				The lawsuit, known as William Penn School District et al. v. Pennsylvania Department of Education et al., has been spearheaded by the Education Law Center and the Public Interest Law Center. They issued a media release announcing the new study, noting the shortfall impacts nearly 1.5 million students, and that across all districts it totals $4.6 billion.
				&ldquo;When looked at on a per pupil basis, the funding in a majority (277) of the state&rsquo;s school districts falls short of adequacy by more than $2,000 per student, based on this formula in state law,&rdquo; the release said. &ldquo;In 64 districts, the shortfall is more than $4,000 per pupil, meaning that an average classroom of 25 students in those districts would need another $100,000 or more in spending to boost its resources to an adequate level.
				The report makes note that the inequities in state funding often hits students from low-income families, largely because school funding relies heavily on local property taxes. Poorer communities have lower property assessed values, leading to lower property tax revenues.
				&ldquo;For generations, children in low-wealth communities have paid the price for inequitable and inadequate funding,&rdquo; Public Interest Law Center attorney Dan Urevick-Ackelsberg said in the release. &ldquo;We have an obligation to build a system that gives all children what they need, so that they can leave school prepared to shape the future of Pennsylvania.&rdquo;

Two local districts among most underfunded by state in new study