Schools file lawsuit over Missouri education funding

Associated Press Writer

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- An attorney for more than two hundred school districts filed a long-expected lawsuit Tuesday challenging the way the state distributes money to public schools.

The school districts claim the funding formula does not provide enough money for schools and does not distribute the money fairly.

The school formula was last challenged in 1990. A judge sided with the schools in 1993, ruling the formula was unfair, and the Legislature changed it in response. The formula has been tweaked several times since then, but the framework remains.

Missouri's current funding formula weighs factors including local property assessments, tax rates and enrollment to determine how much state aid each district should receive. The system is intended to give more state money to poor school districts and less to wealthier ones in an effort to fairly distribute the money available to schools.

Yet a wide disparity remains in school spending, and state budget cuts have caused the formula not to be fully funded in recent years.

The group filing suit said it represents 240 of the state's 524 school districts and more than 340,000 public school students.

A legislative panel also has been meeting to determine if and how to change the funding formula. The committee plans to issue a report, after working with education finance consultants, by Feb. 15.