OKC School Board votes to pursue lawsuit against state

TULSA — The Oklahoma City Public Schools board voted unanimously this week to go after state lawmakers in court over education funding.

The argument offered by OKCPS officials is that the legislature continues to pass what are essentially unfunded mandates - requiring more and more from the schools, while giving them less and less money with which to work.

That, they claim, is a failure of the legislators’ constitutional duty to fund public education in the state.

The vote taken Monday during a special meeting directs the district’s attorneys and staff to begin identifying law firms to file “a lawsuit, or lawsuits against the Oklahoma legislature, and specifically, the Speaker of the House and the President Pro Tem (of the Senate) in their official capacities,” according to board member Mark Mann.

“Over the past few years, Oklahoma education funding has decreased dramatically,” Mann said during a recent news conference. “In fact, Oklahoma is first in the nation for cuts, per pupil, for education funding.”

OKCPS hasn’t determined how much the lawsuit might cost, but board members have expressed hope that other districts will join them and help bear the cost of the litigation.

Taxpayers, however, will actually bear those costs, as well as the cost of defending the lawsuit.

Mann indicated that if and when the legislature convenes for a special session, lawmakers could potentially find the revenue needed to fund education.

At that point, the district would withdraw any lawsuit, he said.