Judge throws out state’s motion to dismiss school funding lawsuit

In an important victory for proponents of adequate funding, a superior court judge has dismissed the state’s first and most important challenge to the Moore vs. State of Alaska lawsuit.  In its ruling, the judge cited its “responsibility to insure that the right to education set forth in the Alaska Constitution is being realized.”

“This is a great decision.  It’s a clean sweep of the state’s motion to dismiss, which is denied without reservation,” said Collin Middleton, attorney for the coalition of educators, school districts and concerned parents who brought the lawsuit. 

Mat-Su Valley parent Kris Moore, lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, noted that despite the past two years of significantly increased appropriations from the state, the new money has merely preserved the status quo.

“It didn’t lower any child’s class size.  It didn’t restore any vocational education programs.  It didn’t fund any after-school programs to help children meet standards,” Moore said.  “Our lawsuit isn’t about the past two years—it’s about the past two decades of chronic under funding.  I’m delighted that it’s moving forward.” 

In August 2004 NEA-Alaska and its coalition partners charged that the state’s funding of kindergarten through high school (K-12) education violates the Alaska Constitution because the state does not invest enough money in its schools to provide an adequate education for all students.

The landmark lawsuit is scheduled to come to trial in October 2006.