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This article originally appeared in the Mobile Register on June 9, 2002.

Our Children Are Still Waiting
by Bill Smith, Caroline Novak, and Cathy Gassenheimer
A+ Education Partnership

More than a decade ago, Alabama's public education system was declared unconstitutional. Compelling evidence that led to this decision included insufficient resources to support high quality teaching and learning in most schools in Alabama, aging textbooks that promised the hope of some day having man walk on the moon and open sewage present on the grounds of some schools.

With the notable exception of a serious, but failed effort by the Alabama Legislature led by the late Michael Figures in 1993, the Legislature has ignored the need to raise new revenues. Growth in the education trust fund has been used to solve some of the most egregious problems associated with the lawsuit, such as replacing old and hazardous buses, and most of the growth has been directed towards raising teacher salaries lowering class size.

The fundamental cornerstone of giving every child access to a well-qualified and prepared teacher and the resources needed to help each child succeed has not been addressed. And last week, the Alabama Supreme Court ended the long-standing case, stating that the Legislature -- not the courts -- was ultimately responsible for adequately funding our schools.

The Court's ruling clearly does not mean that the problem has been solved or even that the issue can be ignored. What the Alabama Supreme Court basically did is call the Alabama Legislature's bluff. Year after year, poll after poll, the citizens of Alabama have stated their strong support for improving public education. But the Legislature has waited for the courts to force them to act instead of proactively examining this problem.

Now, after the Supreme Court ruling, it is time for our Governor and Legislature to join State Superintendent Ed Richardson and members of the Alabama State Board of Education to solve this long-standing problem. We need our leaders to be straightforward with us as they work to improve our public schools for every child in Alabama. Dr. Richardson and the school board have openly acknowledged that we invest much too little in our schools, especially in those communities in the state where children are born without the economic advantages of our more prosperous communities.

In the more than ten years since the original lawsuit was filed, a generation of students has graduated, many of whom attended substandard schools without the resources to offer the rigorous instruction they needed. During this decade, we have ignored our responsibility to adequately fund our schools. Our sister states like Mississippi and South Carolina have made strategic investments in their children and their schools. For example, when adjusted for differences in population, Mississippi raises $835 million more per year than Alabama in revenue for governmental services, including education. South Carolina raises $1.4 billion more than Alabama!

This lack of investment in our schools is most visible in the startling disparities in the resources available to local school systems. Students in a few, mostly prosperous areas of Alabama attend schools that are funded at competitive levels, but most students in Alabama go to schools that are funded well below the level that would make their educational programs effective.

Closer to home, the citizens of Mobile decided to make a wise investment in their future when they voted last year to increase their local support for their schools. That means more money to implement successful, proven programs like the Alabama Reading Initiative and the Maysville Math Initiative; more funding to attract, retain and support top-notch principals and teachers; and, more funding to provide the type of support needed for all students to graduate from high school with the skills needed to be successful in their future endeavors.

All of Alabama's children deserve the opportunity for a quality education. From the inception of the school equity lawsuit, A+ has supported the concept of adequate and equitable funding, with an emphasis on spending money to improve teaching and learning. Now that Alabama's Supreme Court has decided that it does not have the authority to protect the interests of those children who are underserved, we all have the moral imperative to act. We believe that last week's decision by the Court does not change the shared responsibility of policymakers and citizens to address this critical state issue for our children and our future.

A+ is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that works to improve the quality of education for all children in Alabama.