Court rejects Oklahoma Education Association's suit challenging the state’s school funding scheme

An Oklahoma district court has rejected a school funding suit brought by the Oklahoma Education Association (OEA) against the State of Oklahoma challenging the state’s school funding scheme. OEA alleged that state legislature has underfunded the state’s public schools. The court agreed with the state that the suit raised a political question and, therefore, the court did not have jurisdiction. In an oral ruling Judge Daniel Owens dismissed OEA’s suit, meaning the organization cannot refile the suit in district court. However, OEA intends to appeal to the Oklahoma Supreme Court. "While we are disappointed, we also believe it is important for the Oklahoma Supreme Court to review the legal issues involved in this case prior to expending the time and energy litigating this case on the merits," says OEA Executive Director Lela Odom. Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson, who represented the state, applauds the court’s decision. "We’re pleased with the results, but we certainly understand this is not the end of the battle," he says. "We’ll take each step as it comes." The court accepted the state’s arguments that legislative leaders are immune from such a lawsuit and "it would be a violation of the separation of powers for the court to determine the levels of spending by the Legislature." It concluded that the plaintiffs’ have no legal standing to file the suit and have not demonstrated they have been injured. OEA attorneys argued local school districts are underfunded by $1 billion and infrastructure costs are underfunded by about $3 billion. The lawsuit contends Oklahoma is 48th among the 50 states in per-pupil spending in 2005, up one spot from the previous year. Governor Brad Henry also praises the court’s ruling. He says the legislature is acting "quickly to put more money into the classroom to raise teacher pay" but the lawsuit is not the best way to get more money for schools.

KOCO 5
By Associated Press
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