State school funding formula wins court battle

Cole County Circuit Court Judge Richard G. Callahan ruled against the plaintiffs, including the Committee for Educational Equality, saying that Missouri law grants the Missouri General Assembly the power to set the funding formula for public schools.

The plaintiffs argued that the formula was flawed and did not provide the resources necessary to meet state achievement benchmarks.

Three private citizens joined the state as defense interveners. Menlo Smith, Bevis Schock and Rex Sinquefield joined the defense to prevent what they saw as a constitutional threat and waste of taxpayer money.

Judge Callahan has not yet made a decision on one remaining constitutional question: whether the state is meeting its constitutional requirement to spend at least 25 percent of its annual budget on education. That question will be discussed in an upcoming hearing.

It is unknown whether the plaintiffs will appeal the decision to the Missouri Supreme Court.

The legislature passed the new funding formula, which is based on a weighted average daily attendance figure multiplied by the average per-student spending in the state’s highest-performing school districts, during its 2005 legislative session.

See SBJ’s Sept. 3 issue for more on the state education funding formula and other education news.