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Group Forms to Support School Funding Lawsuit Against State

Posted on: Wednesday, 26 October 2005, 21:00 CDT

By Paulette Tobin, Grand Forks Herald, N.D.

Oct. 26--Organizers of the North Dakota Kids Coalition say the new group will allow members to show their support for a school funding lawsuit against the state of North Dakota, even if it's too late for their schools to join the suit.

"We've had a number of schools who have asked to join the lawsuit," Grafton, N.D., superintendent Paul Stremick said Tuesday.

However, if new plaintiffs were added now, he said, it could delay the discovery phase and push back a February court date for the suit, which argues that state aid to schools is inadequate and that it makes schools too reliant on property taxes.

"The big thing we are shooting for is to have a brand new funding formula," Stremick said. "We don't want the current one tweaked with or messed with a little bit. That wouldn't meet the needs of North Dakota students. We want a complete overhaul, with an adequacy-based formula."

Seventeen school districts currently are members of the North Dakota Kids Coalition: Cavalier, Des Lacs-Burlington, Devils Lake, Grafton, Harvey, Hatton, Larimore, Midway, Minot, Northern Cass, Northwood, Park River, Stanley, Surrey, Thompson, Valley City and Williston. The coalition hopes to obtain support from additional districts and other educational groups in the near future, according to a news release. Schools can join for a $1,000 fee, which will be spent on expert fees, attorney fees and public relations.

"We are working to obtain adequate funding for our children's education. They deserve nothing less," Williston Public Schools superintendent Warren Larson said in a news release.

The North Dakota Constitution says the Legislature must establish and maintain "a uniform system of free public schools throughout the state." The coalition believes the current funding system doesn't meet those constitutional mandates.

The state recently filed a request asking the court to rule in the state's favor before the lawsuit's trial begins Feb. 27, according to an Associated Press story. North Dakota's founders believed paying for schools was a local responsibility, the court filing said.

Nine districts, including Devils Lake, Larimore, Grafton, Hatton and Thompson, filed the funding lawsuit in district court in Williston.

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Copyright (c) 2005, Grand Forks Herald, N.D.

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Source: Grand Forks Herald (Grand Forks, N.D.)

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