Rural Schools Fight Funding Lawsuits

This from Rural Education:

Twenty-one small, mostly rural school districts and a group of parents in Colorado should wrap up a fifth and final week of trial today in a landmark school funding lawsuit.

They are challenging the way the state distributes money to its public schools, arguing that an "irrational and arbitrary" system has put some children at a disadvantage. The state's position is that its school districts mostly are succeeding and increased funding doesn't necessarily mean higher student achievement. The Lobato v. State of Colorado case has been in court since 2005.

The case has attracted the attention of rural education advocates, likely because this kind of case isn't unique to Colorado.

Many rural school supporters contend the country is plagued by inequitable funding systems, and they've taken the issue to courts nationwide.

An article we highlighted, written by Marty Strange of the Rural School and Community Trust, says those inadequate and inequitable funding systems are caused in part by weak representation of rural interests when lawmakers craft school funding laws. Rural students often are dispersed among many districts and live in poverty, and those two factors are among "the most virile enemies of political power," Strange writes...