Time to Throw Money at the Problem
It’s a well-worn phrase: you can’t just throw money at the problem. Well, what if the problem is a serious lack of money? Essentially, that’s the issue playing out in the Colorado court system. The most recent developments were reported by the Denver Post:
In a ruling that could have profound consequences for Colorado’s budget, a Denver judge Friday said the state’s school-funding system is not “thorough and uniform” as mandated by the state constitution.
The state’s school-funding system “is not rationally related to the mandate to establish and maintain a thorough and uniform system of free public schools,” District Judge Sheila Rappaport said in a 183-page ruling in which she called the system “unconscionable.”
“It is also apparent that increased funding will be required,” Rappaport wrote.
The case, Lobato vs. State of Colorado, was filed in 2005.
Though the case will be appealed before its outcome compels any action by the state of Colorado, Judge Rappaport’s ruling suggests that the plaintiffs made a powerful case at trial, proving that the underfunding of education denies Colorado’s students their constitutional rights. The government of Colorado is obligated to “provide for the establishment and maintenance of a thorough and uniform system of free public schools
