Groups Ask AR Supreme Court For Decision Supporting Rural Schools; Lakeview Case Has National Implications For Rural School Funding

2/1/2002

From: Greg Malhoit of the Rural School and Community Trust, 919-833-4541; e-mail: greg.malhoit@ruraledu.org or Eric Reece of the Arkansas Public Policy Panel, 501-376-7913, ext. 11; e-mail: Obrian(underscore)[email protected]

WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 -- In a case that is being closely watched by rural educators throughout the nation, two public interest non-profits, the Arkansas Public Policy Panel and the Rural School and Community Trust (Rural Trust), have filed a friend-of-the-court (amicus curiae) brief before the Arkansas Supreme Court. The brief, filed on behalf of the state's rural schools, urged the high court to uphold a lower court's ruling in the landmark Lakeview school funding case currently on appeal. "Every school day, geography is determining the educational destiny of thousands of Arkansas students," the brief contends.

"We filed this brief because the Lakeview case has relevance not only in Arkansas, but also for rural schools and districts throughout the nation," said Gregory Malhoit, director of the Rural Education Finance Center, a program of the Rural Trust. "Funding equity is an issue that is increasingly in the news. High courts in seventeen other states have found their school finance systems to be unconstitutional, either because they create impermissible inequities, because the finance system is inadequate, or both. Rural ?nzk^-> 3/89icts around the country are looking to the Arkansas high court for a ruling that is fair to rural schoolchildren."

The two groups asked the high court to uphold a lower court's decision that Arkansas schools are unconstitutionally under-funded and that the school funding formula is unconstitutionally inequitable. The state has appealed that ruling to the Arkansas Supreme Court.

The groups filed the brief to assure that the circumstances and needs of Arkansas' many rural students are considered when the high court hears the case later this year. Arkansas has more students who attend small rural schools than any other state. "More often than not, these students live in economically distressed communities where the only path out of poverty is through the schoolhouse door," notes the brief filed today. "Yet, the method chosen by the State of Arkansas to fund its public schools prevents many rural schools from offering students equal educational opportunities." Forty-two percent of Arkansas schools are located in rural communities with populations of 2,500 or less.

The brief contends that: -- Arkansas' large rural population and high rural poverty rate make it essential that the needs of rural students be considered in a court decision on the equity and adequacy of school funding; -- Smaller schools and smaller districts are particularly beneficial to help overcome the effects of poverty on student achievement in poorer communities; -- Equal school funding does make a difference: the effects of poverty and the disadvantages of rural geography can be mitigated for rural students if they have equal educational opportunity; and -- The state's property tax system creates serious inequities for rural schools.

Rural Poverty Issues If the state is going to guarantee all Arkansas children equal educational opportunity, "the state's school finance system must take into account the extent of poverty in rural communities," the brief contends. Arkansas' poverty rate in 1998 was 16.4 percent, compared to 12.7 percent nationally. The poverty rate for rural Arkansas is 63 percent greater than the U.S. average. "With a declining tax base, Arkansas' rural communities are trapped in a cruel cycle of poverty that prevents them from adequately addressing their single most effective economic development strategy -- improving their public schools," notes the brief.

Smaller Schools and Districts are Important The brief cites recent research showing the benefits of smaller schools and districts for improving academic achievement, especially among poor and minority students, and cautions against closing or consolidating small rural schools. Commenting on this recommendation, Rural Trust President Rachel Tompkins said: "The state should recognize the benefits of small schools and small districts, and try to preserve them whenever possible. If you take poor, rural kids away from their small, community schools and put them in bigger schools far from home, research shows that you may be taking away the one advantage they have."

"As lawmakers consider school consolidation, it's important to recognize the value of small, community-based schools and their potential for improving student achievement, particularly in poor, rural areas and for African-American and other minority students," said Bill Kopsky, executive director of the Arkansas Public Policy Panel.

Equal Opportunity Means Higher Achievement In their brief the two groups argue that, despite their disadvantages, rural Arkansas students have the capacity to achieve at far greater levels if they are provided with equal educational opportunities. Citing research showing the correlation between poverty, race, and educational achievement, the brief contends that "evidence abounds that with adequate resources, poor and minority children can succeed academically." However, the state's per capita expenditures on education are the lowest in the nation -- a fact reflected in poor state and national test results and very poor teacher salaries. "The connection between the State's educational achievement and its financial investment in education is unmistakable," the brief states. The groups recommend that Arkansas target resources based on student needs and local ability to fund schools. "The State's constitutional responsibility to provide students with equal educational opportunity cannot be simply achieved by providing identical funding or programs among all districts," they note.

Local Property Tax System is Inequitable The reliance on local property taxes to fund public schools has created a school finance system that is inherently inequitable, resulting in significant differences in per-pupil annual spending in "property rich" and "property poor" school districts. The brief points out that the $1,800-per-pupil difference between Arkansas schools spending at the 95th percentile and those spending at the 5th percentile "would be enough to raise teacher salaries, hire more teachers to reduce class size, renovate dilapidated buildings, offer remedial reading courses, or provide computers for every classroom" in a small school district.

"Property taxes can't solve the problem," said Kopsky of the Arkansas Public Policy Panel. "Strapping farmers and rural residents with the highest property tax rates in the state still won't meet basic needs, because the property values in many of our rural counties simply are not very high."

In urging the high court to uphold the lower court's ruling, the brief states: "The trial court was correct in concluding that the state's failure to provide all students with high-quality teachers, adequate school facilities, and a challenging curriculum denies these students an equal opportunity to learn."

--- The Rural School and Community Trust (Rural Trust) is a national non-profit organization that works with a network of schools and community groups striving to improve the quality of education and community life and to improve state policy on education. The Rural Education Finance Center, a program of the Rural Trust, is dedicated to improving educational opportunity for rural children by reducing inequities in state school finance systems, strengthening the fiscal practices of rural schools, and ensuring the adequacy of funding to rural schools.

The Arkansas Public Policy Panel is a non-profit organization that works with community groups and institutional partners across the State of Arkansas who are concerned with public education policy, government accountability, civil rights, clean environment, economic fairness, and agriculture.

A copy of the brief filed before the Supreme Court can be found on the Arkansas Public Policy Panel Web site at http://www.ARPanel.org or on the Rural Trust's Web site at http://www.ruraledu.org.