Lawsuit Over School Funding Disparities Opens

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A Pennsylvania judge is getting conflicting descriptions of the state’s education funding. A trial began Friday in a lawsuit designed to compel lawmakers to funnel more money to schools in lower income areas. The case’s central issue is a pattern of wide disparities in spending among the state’s 500 districts and the comparatively low percentage of K-12 education that is paid for by the state government. The trial is expected to last until January. The plaintiffs include six districts and the state conference of the NAACP. Defendants are the governor, top-ranking Republican leaders in the state House and Senate and others.