48 Oklahoma school districts sue state over education funds

Forty-eight Oklahoma school districts, including Ponca City Public Schools, want the state’s top education agency to recalculate the state funding they were supposed to receive during a 22-year period and redistribute any over payments that other school districts may have received.

The districts filed a lawsuit Monday asking the Oklahoma Supreme Court to order the Department of Education to correctly calculate state aid for what was due the schools districts between 1992 and 2014. The lawsuit asks that over payments to other school districts be redistributed to underpaid districts. The calculation error was discovered by Ponca City Schools Superintendent Dr. David Pennington.

Pennington estimates that the Ponca City Public Schools has lost over $13 million in revenue over the past 22 years.