Tri Lakes Tribune > News
D-38 follows suit
By Nicole Chillino
For several years, various groups in the state have been trying to prove that Colorado’s public schools are not adequately funded.
In the latest legal action, the Colorado Supreme Court has agreed to investigate whether a court can decide if the state legislature is adequately funding public schools and who can sue. The Colorado Association of School Boards, CASB, and the Colorado Association of School Executives, CASE, have asked individual districts to financially support the lawsuit.
The School District 38 Board of Education decided Dec. 18 to support the suit with $1,375, or 25 cents per student, from the budgeted funds for the board. Board treasurer Mark Pfoff made sure the money was not coming from a fund that would affect district students and was told the board’s fund alone would be affected.
“A lawsuit is the quickest way to increase funding for public schools,” said D-38 Assistant Superintendent of Operations Cheryl Wangeman. She cited Kansas and Wyoming as two examples of cases in which the public school system was reworked by the state government to comply with the state constitutions.
The state’s supreme court threatened to shut the school system down if the legislature did not increase the school funding by the amount the court had ordered, but the lawmakers were able to come to an agreement in time, she said.
The most recent lawsuit began in 2005, when 14 school districts, parents and students filed suit against the state to show the state is not constitutionally adequate in the funding its school system, according to information from CASB. The Denver District Court and Colorado Court of Appeals both ruled the school districts did not have the standing, under the Local Control Clause, to bring suit and that the quality and adequacy of school funding should be a question for the state legislature, not the courts.
The supreme court will discuss whether the lower court will be able to make judgement regarding the adequacy lawsuit and whether the 14 school districts that have shown an interest in the case have the authority to sue, said Kathleen Sullivan, attorney and associate director with the CASB legal services program. CASB’s involvement includes filing several friend-of-the-court briefs as well as endorsing the litigation.
If the supreme court decides the question of whether the funding for public schools is adequate, the court will allow a lower court to hold a trial, according to information from CASB.
If the state supreme court determines the Colorado Constitution does not give school districts the authority to bring forth a suit, only students and parents will be able to be part of the lawsuit, she said.
“We want to see an opportunity for school districts, parents and students to go to trial and have a chance to show that the finance system in Colorado is not working,” Sullivan said, adding the system is insufficient for students and local boards, which are constitutionally charged with the responsibility of controlling instruction. If the boards do not have the resources to fulfill their constitutional mandates, they cannot do it.
“We believe it’s important to have supreme court authority that recognizes the unique role of school boards in education in the state of Colorado, by virtue of the Colorado Constitution, placing the responsibility for local control into local school boards’ hands,” she said.
In the latest legal action, the Colorado Supreme Court has agreed to investigate whether a court can decide if the state legislature is adequately funding public schools and who can sue. The Colorado Association of School Boards, CASB, and the Colorado Association of School Executives, CASE, have asked individual districts to financially support the lawsuit.
The School District 38 Board of Education decided Dec. 18 to support the suit with $1,375, or 25 cents per student, from the budgeted funds for the board. Board treasurer Mark Pfoff made sure the money was not coming from a fund that would affect district students and was told the board’s fund alone would be affected.
“A lawsuit is the quickest way to increase funding for public schools,” said D-38 Assistant Superintendent of Operations Cheryl Wangeman. She cited Kansas and Wyoming as two examples of cases in which the public school system was reworked by the state government to comply with the state constitutions.
The state’s supreme court threatened to shut the school system down if the legislature did not increase the school funding by the amount the court had ordered, but the lawmakers were able to come to an agreement in time, she said.
The most recent lawsuit began in 2005, when 14 school districts, parents and students filed suit against the state to show the state is not constitutionally adequate in the funding its school system, according to information from CASB. The Denver District Court and Colorado Court of Appeals both ruled the school districts did not have the standing, under the Local Control Clause, to bring suit and that the quality and adequacy of school funding should be a question for the state legislature, not the courts.
The supreme court will discuss whether the lower court will be able to make judgement regarding the adequacy lawsuit and whether the 14 school districts that have shown an interest in the case have the authority to sue, said Kathleen Sullivan, attorney and associate director with the CASB legal services program. CASB’s involvement includes filing several friend-of-the-court briefs as well as endorsing the litigation.
If the supreme court decides the question of whether the funding for public schools is adequate, the court will allow a lower court to hold a trial, according to information from CASB.
If the state supreme court determines the Colorado Constitution does not give school districts the authority to bring forth a suit, only students and parents will be able to be part of the lawsuit, she said.
“We want to see an opportunity for school districts, parents and students to go to trial and have a chance to show that the finance system in Colorado is not working,” Sullivan said, adding the system is insufficient for students and local boards, which are constitutionally charged with the responsibility of controlling instruction. If the boards do not have the resources to fulfill their constitutional mandates, they cannot do it.
“We believe it’s important to have supreme court authority that recognizes the unique role of school boards in education in the state of Colorado, by virtue of the Colorado Constitution, placing the responsibility for local control into local school boards’ hands,” she said.
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