HARRISBURG, PA. (ErieNewsNow) - Today concludes a week of testimony in the public education funding lawsuit against the Commonwealth. 

The trial kicked off last Friday. Petitioners, which include six school districts, parents, and two state organizations, filed the suit against leaders of the General Assembly, the Department of Education, the Secretary of Education, and the Governor. 

Petitioners and school funding advocates say 86-percent of Pennsylvania public schools are underfunded. 

“Underfunding, impacts rural schools, it impacts urban schools, it impacts suburban schools,” said Mimi McKenzie, Legal Director at The Public Interest Law Center. 

McKenzie says Pennsylvania’s 2016 Basic Education Funding Formula needs a boost. 

“There are two problems, the pie is too small and is not distributed in an equitable way,” said McKenzie. “The way that we distribute money right now, only a small portion of the total dollars going into the basic education funding formula, run through that fair funding formula,” she added. “And we know, teachers, superintendents, we know from educational experts that money matters, resources matter.” 

Redistributing current funds, according to the basic formula, would just take money from some school districts and give it to others. 

“Education shouldn’t be a zero-sum game,” McKenzie said. 

McKenzie adds that local school districts are also carrying the burden. 

“Erie school district is $4,941 per student below the adequacy target. Similarly, Wyalusing, which is in Bradford County, they’re $3,325 per student,” said McKenzie. 

Petitioners don’t want checks for individual school districts, rather, they are looking for a substantial funding makeover at the state level that starts with the General Assembly. 

“The petitioners aren’t asking the court for a specific amount; they’re asking for a system that provides districts with enough resources so that every child can be college and career ready,” said McKenzie. “You need to create a system that adequately provides for all of the school districts to have the resources that they need for children to be college and career ready.”