Lawsuit seeking funding for education involves two midstate districts

(Undated) — Two midstate school districts are a part of a broad-based coalition suing the commonwealth over the way state funding is distributed.

The School District of Lancaster and the Shenandoah Valley School District in Schuylkill County are among six districts, seven parents and advocates claiming the state failed to ensure all children receive “a thorough and efficient” education.

Joe Bruni is the superintendent of the William Penn School District in Delaware County.

He says the lawsuit asks the Commonwealth Court to compel legislative leaders to equitably distribute enough funding for all students to be able to meet the state’s prescribed academic standards

“The resources that we collect aren’t adequate to maintain the level of education that the state of Pennsylvania expects from its students,” says Bruni.

The Corbett administration says it believes education spending is not a matter for the courts to decide.

A similar legal action was taken against the state in the 1990s.

The court ruled no judicially measurable standards existed to decide exactly what the state constitution means by the legislature must provide a “thorough and efficient” education.