alleged the school funding system did not provide the Philadelphia school district with necessary funding to meet its student needs and therefore violated Pennsylvania's constitution that required "the maintenance and support of a thorough and efficient system of public education to serve the needs of the Commonwealth."
How later courts described this case
- alleged the school funding system did not provide the Philadelphia school district with necessary funding to meet its student needs and therefore violated Pennsylvania's constitution that required "the maintenance and support of a thorough and efficient system of public education to serve the needs of the Commonwealth."
Written by the judges who cited it.
The opinion
PELLEGRINI, Judge,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent from the majority’s decision that the allegations raised by the School District are non-justiciable. The School District alleges that the Commonwealth has failed to provide for a “thorough and efficient system” of education as required by Article 3, Section 14 of the Pennsylvania Constitution. One of the duties of the judiciary is to ensure that the government functions within the bounds of the Constitution. See Pennsylvania AFL-CIO v. Commonwealth, 691 A.2d 1023 (Pa.Cmwlth.1997). Because this case involves questions as to whether the General Assembly carried out its constitutional mandates, I believe it is justiciable. Accordingly, I would dismiss the Commonwealth’s preliminary objections.