A coalition of Wisconsin school districts, teacher unions, advocacy groups, parents, and students have sued the state legislature, contending that lawmakers have failed to fund public schools adequately.
The Associated Press reports that lawsuit asks the court to intervene and impose a new finance system that meets the needs of districts, unless the legislature and governor enact one first “in a timely fashion.”
The suit asserts that the state is violating the Wisconsin Constitution’s requirement that all children be provided with an equal opportunity for a sound, basic and uniform education.
In 2000, the last time the state’s school funding formula faced a court challenge, the Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld the system as constitutional. But attorneys argue in the new lawsuit that so much has changed since then that a new challenge was warranted.
As recently as 2003, the state paid two-thirds of the cost of each student’s education. But now districts are paying about half the costs.
Leah Hover-Preiss, a teacher in the Adams-Friendship School District and a plaintiff in the lawsuit, said that she has seen the impact of inadequate funding in the classroom through increased class sizes, reduced support for teachers, fewer opportunities for students and a lack of mental health services.
The Wisconsin PTA is taking the lead on the lawsuit and is joined by 18 other individuals and entities, including school districts in Beloit, Green Bay, Eau Claire, Adams-Friendship and Necedah. Other parties include teachers unions in Beloit, Eau Claire, Necedah and Green Bay and eight teachers, parents, students and community members.
The legislature and its budget-writing committee are named as defendants.
