GA seeks dismissal of school funding suit
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Georgia is seeking dismissal of a suit brought in 2004 by a group of 51 mostly rural school districts that alleges a lack of state money has caused low student achievement. The Consortium for Adequate School Funding (CASF), which represents the school districts, claims poor districts are at a disadvantage because they can't raise enough money from local taxes to supplement state funding. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Long heard arguments on the state's motion for summary judgment, which would allow the judge to rule in favor of the state without going to trial. Attorneys representing Georgia argued CASF has failed to prove the state has not fulfilled its obligation to provide an adequate education for all students. They contend the group has no statistical evidence that poor student performance was caused by a lack of state funding or other factors under state control. Lawyers for CASF countered that summary judgment is not appropriate because many facts are in dispute. They argued evidence would be presented at trial to show the state has failed to provide for students. If the judge denies the state's motion, the trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 21. If the state loses at trial, Georgia could be forced to spend more money on education or change the way it distributes money among school districts.
Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 7/23/08, By Laura Diamond
[Editor’s Note: In 2006 Georgia rejected an offer by CASF to negotiate a settlement, insisting that it was already meeting its legal obligation to provide students with a basic education. Joe Martin speaking on behalf of CASF expressed disappointment that the state had declined the chance to settlement. “We are going to war,” he said. “It's a legal matter. It's going to be a slugfest and we sure wanted to avoid that. It's so unfortunate.” COSA members can view a summary of the 2006 Atlanta Journal-Constitution story from the COSA database below.]
COSA database summary of Georgia school funding suit