CHEYENNE - An attorney for the state of Wyoming has filed a motion asking a judge to dismiss the lawsuit in which several school districts are seeking more money for teachers and programs.

In his motion filed Thursday, lawyer Michael R. O'Donnell said it would be pointless for District Judge Nicholas Kalokathis to proceed with the hearings in the lawsuit. If the judge won't dismiss the case, O'Donnell asked him to at least halt the proceedings.

A coalition made up of the Wyoming Education Association, the Wyoming School Boards Association and 32 of the state's 48 districts are pressing the lawsuit challenging the state's school funding system.

The coalition maintains that the system doesn't do enough to cover costs, including hiring and training teachers and maintenance of buildings. Trial in the case opened Oct. 24 in Cheyenne and is continuing.

In his request to the judge, O'Donnell argues the state's 2002 funding model for schools has already been changed, so it's pointless to litigate any challenge to it. And he says that any ruling on the constitutionality of the present funding system would be moot by next March, when the Legislature will recalibrate the system.

But Gary McDowell, president of the Wyoming Education Association, issued a statement on Friday saying Judge Kalokathis had already denied a request from the state to dismiss the case. McDowell said he sees no reason to expect the judge to change his mind now.

"The issues at trial revolve around correcting serious errors in concept, procedure and calculations so that the system is constitutional," McDowell said. "The court case is establishing a record for the Supreme Court to be able to resolve these fundamental problems, almost all of which have been incorporated into the proposed new model."

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jim McBride told Wyoming Public Radio this week that he's growing tired of litigation from the state's school districts. He said the districts were spending money intended for education on attorneys.

O'Donnell, likewise, said the cost of the lawsuit is a concern.

"I think this is of concern to virtually every policy maker involved in educational issues," he said. "The state of Wyoming is paying for virtually every person in the courtroom in Cheyenne who's fighting out this litigation."

Attorneys and witnesses for both sides are being paid out of the state's School Foundation Account, O'Donnell said. He said he expected the cost would run into the millions of dollars.

O'Donnell said he disagreed with McDowell's statement that the judge had already ruled against the state's motion to dismiss the case. Rather, O'Donnell said, the judge on his own asked the school association and other plaintiffs this week why the lawsuit wasn't moot, but didn't rule on a motion. O'Donnell said the state was already planning to file its motion to dismiss at the time.

McDowell said the results of the lawsuit would be helpful to the state's ongoing effort to recalibrate school funding.

"When the Legislature meets next year, it will have available the District Court opinion as a guide to the unresolved problem areas," McDowell said. "When the Supreme Court rules on the record that is being established in this case, there will be a final and binding answer to the same issues."

But O'Donnell said he disagreed that the lawsuit would settle anything if the judge allows it to continue.

"The problem now is we've got a lawsuit going on at exactly the wrong time, because it's meaningless," O'Donnell said.

NewsTracker

* Last we knew: A judge was hearing arguments in Cheyenne on whether the state's school funding system is constitutional.

* The latest: The state of Wyoming wants the lawsuit to be dismissed or the trial halted.

* What's next: The trial is scheduled to continue on Monday.