Court Again Strikes Down Wyo. Finance System

By Laura Miller

In declaring Wyoming's school-funding system unconstitutional earlier this month, the state supreme court may have sown the seeds for a new round of school-finance litigation across the country.

Many states, Wyoming included, have seen their finance systems struck down in recent years. But the Wyoming court's unanimous Nov. 8 ruling orders the legislature to conduct a study to determine the elements of a complete "education package" for every Wyoming child, based in part on a statewide curriculum and educational standards. After calculating how much that would cost, the court said lawmakers must pay for it. A new system must be in place by July 1997.

The ruling struck down the state's "recapture" system--the so-called Robin Hood strategy that has been employed in states like Texas in recent years--instructing lawmakers that even with some sharing,...