Forty-eight Oklahoma School Districts sued the state education department Monday for allegedly miscalculating the education funding formula for 22 years.
The lawsuit, filed with the state Supreme Court, alleges that counties that use a Commercial and Agricultural Personal Property tax assessment ratio above eleven percent can keep the extra revenue for the local school district. Ponca City superintendent David Pennington, speaking on behalf of the underpaid districts, says that didn’t happen, and the state distributed that money to other schools.
Now, Pennington wants the state education department to recalculate state aid for all fiscal years between 1993 and 2014, collect the money from overpaid districts, and redistribute the money to underpaid schools.
“Our intention is not to harm any other district. But, again, it’s an issue of fairness. Our taxpayers paid their taxes and they paid higher taxes to provide better experiences for our school children.”
Pennington estimates that Ponca City was underpaid by $13 million dollars and Oklahoma City by $40 million.
A spokesperson says the Department of Education does not comment on pending litigation.
