Chancery judge: Politics won't keep me from lawsuit on education funding

Chancery Court Judge Travis Laster didn't hesitate to lay out his opinion on tax assessments in a school funding case Wednesday.

It's a legal issue, not a political one, he said.

"Really, it's compliance with statute," Laster said after attorneys for Delaware's three counties argued that assessments are the General Assembly's responsibility. 

"What is politically disrespectful about enforcing statute?" Laster asked.

It was one of several illuminating moments in a hearing on a case filed by two civil rights groups —  Delawareans for Educational Opportunity and the Delaware NAACP — demanding the state change how it funds education.

The defendants — Gov. John Carney, Education Secretary Susan Bunting, State Treasurer Kenneth Simpler and finance directors for New Castle, Kent and Sussex counties — were trying to get the suit dismissed. During oral arguments, they argued it was a "non-starter" with little basis in constitutional law. 

After a two-hour hearing, Laster was unwilling to throw it out, however, and told lawyers to start preparing for a separate case on the taxation issue.

He said he will take up to 90 days to consider whether to take up the rest of the lawsuit, which involves legislative funding formulas, Delaware's constitution and whether the state is obligated to provide "adequate" schooling to students. 

The hearing Wednesday revolved around three big questions: whether tax assessments are a political issue, are school children guaranteed an "adequate" education and whether the court has jurisdiction over those issues.

Here's how discussions on all three shook out: 

1. Are tax assessments a political issue? 

County officials say "yes." But Laster wasn't convinced. 

The plaintiffs were not asking for a general reassessment. Their complaint says taxes are being collected illegally because property values have not been reassessed for more than 30 years. 

As a result, the underlying school tax base has remained flat for decades while the cost of running schools has risen substantially due to inflation and increased enrollment. That means fewer resources for disadvantaged students. 

The county attorneys said reassessment would be a massive undertaking. Historically, politicians have clung to the status quo because homeowners don't want to see their taxes go up.

But Laster said he would not dismiss the case just because it would be "too hard" or costly to implement changes. 

"I have no illusions that a ruling on this topic would be unpopular," he said.

For one thing, he said, dismissing the case would mean that the plaintiff's voices are never heard.

"I'm resisting the idea that there's not a claim here that gets them into court," he said. 

Laster said the issue isn't a political one because state statute clearly says assessments should be based on a property's "true value in money." 

Other Delaware courts have refused to order a new general assessment because the Delaware Constitution requires "uniformity" in how properties are valued. That means each individual property in a county would have to be assessed using the same metric or scale.

Right now, New Castle County uses the base year of 1983, Kent County uses 1987 and Sussex County uses 1974 to assess taxes. 

BACKGROUND

Suit claiming state funds schools unfairly could move forward as two cases

Civil rights groups sue Delaware over education funding for disadvantaged students

Lawsuit: Delaware schools are leaving children in poverty behind

Challenges to tax assessments have usually been on behalf of one person, and there has not been a case asserting that an entire county was violating the statutory requirements. 

But if every property countywide were to be reassessed, it would be considered "uniform" and therefore, legal. 

Laster said as much in a 2017 ruling over whether Red Clay had broken election laws while holding a referendum. He ultimately decided it did but refused to invalidate the vote, citing "dysfunction" in the state's school funding system.

"It should be obvious that assessing properties as of 1983 is a far cry from determining their 'true value in money' as of the current year," Laster wrote in his decision. "The Delaware Supreme Court indicated in 1977 that at some point, assessed values could become so stale as to be statutorily infirm. But to date, no one has brought a county-wide challenge." 

2. Are kids guaranteed 'adequate' schooling? 

Not according to the state's lawyers. They minutely analyzed discussions Delaware's constitutional framers had more than 100 years ago, in 1896-7, when writing the state's education clause. 

That clause requires Delaware maintain a "general and efficient" school system. 

"Equality and adequacy are laudable goals," said Kathaleen  McCormick, an attorney representing Carney, Bunting and Simpler. 

But based on discussions held in 1896 and 1897, she didn't believe the constitution calls for an "adequate" education. Instead, it calls for a system that is statewide, uniform and runs with legislative and managerial efficiency. 

"Delaware’s education system is not perfect, but it is not unconstitutional," the defendants' motion to dismiss says.

Richard Morse, an attorney with the Community Legal Aid Society representing the plaintiffs, interprets "general and efficient" differently, of course. 

Using a definition of the word "efficient" that was actually introduced into evidence by the defendants, he said schools in Delaware should be "causing effects, producing results" and be "effectual, competent and able."

The very word implies there is some standard to meet, he said. 

If Laster decided Delaware's Constitution does establish an adequacy requirement, he would also have to decide just what "adequate" means, attorneys on both sides agreed. 

Using test scores is one option, but McCormick said those scores are meant to help children achieve fairly high standards and therefore should not be used to establish a floor for expectations. 

If the part of the case that isn't dealing with tax assessments moves forward, Laster said he thought it might be best to handle in two phases. During the first, the court would examine what the Delaware Department of Education standards actually are and how they can be used to establish a baseline.

During the second phase, the court would look at whether some students are being failed by Delaware's education system, and if they are, what an appropriate remedy would be. 

The lawsuit suggests that one solution would be to change how Delaware funds education so children have an opportunity to succeed, no matter where they live. Children who are suffering from trauma, learning English or have limited resources at home need more funding to do well academically, the suit asserts. 

3. Does the court even have authority here? 

Laster said because the constitutional questions here are so complex, it could take him up to 90 days to come to a decision on that second set of issues. 

"You should not expect a decision in a matter of days, or even in a matter of weeks," he told lawyers Wednesday. 

Rather than going through a trial that could end with the Delaware Supreme Court  ruling on appeal that the Chancery Court did not have jurisdiction, Laster said he was considering a rarely used court procedure to help answer that question.

He wanted to make sure no one's time and effort is wasted in a case that everyone agreed could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, not to mention man hours.

The Delaware Supreme Court can, at its own discretion, answer "certified questions" posed by a lower court like the Chancery Court. 

The option is used when there is a novel question of law involved, trial court decisions are in conflict or there is an unsettled question involving a Delaware statute or constitutional provision.

Even if Laster takes that route, there is no guarantee the Delaware Supreme Court would choose to answer. 

As a general matter, the Supreme Court will answer certified questions only when the answer may determine the outcome of the underlying litigation and there is no controlling precedent, according to the Delaware Trial Handbook. 

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Contact Jessica Bies at (302) 324-2881 or jbies@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @jessicajbies.

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