Vincent v. Voight

It is significant that [article X, § 3] applies to the "establishment of

district

schools

," — not to the establishment of school districts . . . . An examination of the debates in the conventions that framed our present constitution and the constitution of 1846 (which contained a similar provision) discloses that the members of those conventions, when they were framing the article relating to schools, were concerned, not with the method of forming school districts, but with the character of instruction that should be given in those schools after the districts were formed, — with the training that these schools should give to the future citizens of Wisconsin.

1. School districts vary widely in the amount spent per pupil, ranging from $13,534 to $5301.

2. The levy rates vary widely, ranging from $4.71 to $20.63 per thousand.

3. The ability to raise dollars for every mill levied varies widely. For example, in 1996-67 Gibraltar was able to raise $1,270,000 for every mill levied; Bowler was able to raise $55,000 for every mill levied.

1. Property poor districts that tax at the same rate as property rich districts have significantly fewer dollars to spend on education. For example, the two like-size districts of Neenah and Elmbrook tax at approximately the same rate of $11.55 per thousand. However, due to the disparity of tax base, Elmbrook is able to spend $1400 more per pupil than Neenah, which amounts to over $9,000,000 more available to Elmbrook than to Neenah for educational needs.

2. In some like-size districts, which spend the same, the tax burden on the taxpayer is significantly disparate. For example, Beloit and Wauwatosa spend approximately $8500 per pupil. Yet Beloit must taxPage 662their taxpayers $2.17 per thousand more than Wauwatosa to raise the same amount of dollars.

The legislature shall provide by law for the establishment of district schools, which shall be as nearly uniform as practicable; and such schools shall be free and without charge for tuition to all children between the ages of 4 and 20 years; and no sectarian instruction shall be allowed therein; but the legislature by law may, for the purpose of religious instruction outside the district schools, authorize the release of students during regular school hours.

An examination of the debates in the conventions that framed our present constitution and the constitution of 1846 (which contained a similar provision) discloses that the members of those conventions,Page 670when they were framing the article relating to schools, were concerned, not with the method of forming school districts, but with the character of instruction that should be given in those schools after the districts were formed, — with the training that these schools should give to the future citizens of Wisconsin.

Viewing the terms of this constitutional provision in the light of its express terms as well as of the purpose which actuated those who drafted it, we conclude that the requirement as to uniformity applies to the districts after they are formed, — to the character of the instruction given, — rather than to the means by which they are established and their boundaries fixed.⁵⁴

It is thisinstitutionand not thedistrictto which the constitutional provision applies. This is shown by the plain wording of the constitution which limits the requirement of uniformity to "schools" and merely prefixes the word "district" to denote the type of schools.

This plain and natural construction has been followed by the courts, under similar constitutional provisions. The decisions hold that such uniformity relates onlyto the character of theinstitution, called the school.

The legislature shall provide by law for the establishment of district schools, which shall be as nearly uniform as practicable; and such schools shall be free and without charge for tuition to all children between the ages of 4 and 20 years . . . .

The specific constitutional guarantee of education flows from the provision that the legislature provide for the establishment of district schools. Since the power to establish schools existed without a specific grant as an inherent function of state government, the clear purpose of art. X, sec. 3, was to compel the exercise of the power to the extent designated. Art. X, sec. 3, must then be viewed as a limitation upon the broad power of the state to educate its citizens through the establishment and operation of schools. The limitations are precisely stated: District schools, uniformity, and free tuition for certain ages.

The nonjusticiability of a political question is primarily a function of the separation of powers. Much confusion results from the capacity of the `political question' label to obscure the need for case-by-case inquiry. Deciding whether a matter has in any measure been committed by the Constitution to another branch of government, or whether the action of that branch exceeds whatever authority has been committed, is itself a delicate exercise in constitutional interpretation, and is a responsibility of this Court as ultimate interpreter of the Constitution.

. . . .

Prominent on the surface of any case held to involve a political question is found a textually demonstrable constitutional commitment of the issue to a coordinate political department; or a lack of judicially discoverable and manageable standards for resolving it; or the impossibility of deciding without an initial policy determination of a kind clearly for nonjudicial discretion; or the impossibility of a court's undertaking independent resolution without expressing lack of the respect due coordinate branches of government; or an unusual need for unquestioning adherence to a political decision already made; or the potentiality of embarrassment from multifarious pronouncements by various departments on one question.

What constitutes a "high quality" education, and how it may best be provided, cannot be ascertained by any judicially discoverable or manageable standards. The constitution provides no principled basis for a judicial definition of high quality. It would be a transparent conceit to suggest that whatever standards of quality courts might develop would actually be derived from the constitution in any meaningful sense. Nor is education a subject within the judiciary's field of expertise, such that a judicial role in giving content to the education guarantee might be warranted. Rather, the question of educationalPage 684quality is inherently one of policy involving philosophical and practical considerations that call for the exercise of legislative and administrative discretion.

To hold that the question of educational quality is subject to judicial determination would largely deprive the members of the general public of a voice in a matter which is close to the hearts of all individuals in Illinois. Judicial determination of the type of education children should receive and how it can best be provided would depend on the opinions of whatever expert witnesses the litigants might call to testify and whatever other evidence they might choose to present. Members of the general public, however, would be obliged to listen in respectful silence. We certainly do not mean to trivialize the views of educators, school administrators and others who have studied the problems which public schools confront. But nonexperts — students, parents, employers, and others — also have important views and experiences to contribute which are not easily reckoned through formal judicial factfinding. In contrast, an open and robust public debate is the lifeblood of the political process in our system of representative democracy. Solutions to problems of educational quality should emerge from a spirited dialogue between the people of the State and their elected representatives.