Dive Brief:
- Ten parents from Kansas' Shawnee Mission School District are awaiting a December decision on whether the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case challenging the state's current cap on the use of local property taxes for education.
- Filed in 2010, Petrella v. Brownbeck argues that state limits on local school district funding fosters inequality, KSL.com reports, though the caps are meant to even out inequity between districts.
- According to SchoolFunding.info, the Kansas Court of Appeals overturned a lower court’s dismissal of the suit on Oct. 18, rejecting a 2011 trial court decision that found a decision in favor of the plaintiffs would require the education funding system as a whole to be found unconstitutional, stripping the district's ability to raise funds.
Dive Insight:
If the Supreme Court does decide to hear the parents' case, a decision on the funding caps could have national reverberations. Around the country, states spend varying amounts of money per-pupil, and funding structures vary widely.
A lawyer for the group, Tristan Duncan, argues that Kansas districts with lower property values don’t actually have less money to spend in the classroom. Yet Duncan’s logic is hard to follow. It’s easy to see how districts with higher property taxes are able to offer larger salaries to school employees and can afford better resources and technology.
In states like Pennsylvania, lawsuits have centered around alleged violations of the state constitution in “failing to provide adequate education” for students. That state in particular reportedly relies heavily on property taxes for funding, with the gap in per-pupil spending ranging anywhere from $9,800 to $28,400 depending on where a student lives. The state’s funding structures are still being examined.
Currently, Kansas isn't facing just one lawsuit related to education. Another lawsuit, Gannon v. Kansas, is an argument by four districts that the state has "failed to fully fund schools" in accordance with its constitution, the Kansas City Star reports.
Both Arizona and Washington are also struggling to implement new funding plans after long-running lawsuits.