ACLU-WV asks West Virginia's top court to force a fix to the state's 44-year-old school aid formula, on behalf of a Lincoln County family.

The West Virginia chapter of the ACLU filed a petition Friday asking the state Supreme Court of Appeals to order changes to the formula that sends tax dollars to the state's 55 county school systems, The Intelligencer reports. The case was brought on behalf of a Lincoln County Schools student and the student's mother, Lakin Patten. It argues that the seven-step school aid formula violates the state Constitution's requirement of a "thorough and efficient" school system and its equal protection guarantees. The formula leans heavily on enrollment, and enrollment is falling: last October's count was 234,957 students, down 15.32% from 2015. A RAND Corporation study commissioned by the Legislature found that while overall state education spending is near the national average, the formula fails to adequately account for the higher costs of low-income students and students with disabilities. State Board of Education President Paul Hardesty called it "a 44-year-old formula" and said underfunding for special education is the "fatal flaw," adding, "County BOE's ran a collective deficit of $224 million dollars during the last school year to educate our special needs population." ACLU-WV Executive Director Eli Baumwell said the filing "could well prove to be the most important case we have filed in my 10 years with the organization." Gov. Patrick Morrisey said earlier this week that his administration is working on its own plan, and his spokesperson, Ann Moore, called the suit premature: "It's an odd time for the ACLU to file suit given the active and significant conversations taking place between the executive and legislative branches regarding school aid reform." Why it matters at home: a funding formula sounds dry until it decides whether your county keeps a school open. If you have a child in a West Virginia public school, go to your next county board meeting and ask what this formula means for your child's classroom.