A local school board member responded to the state of Ohio's latest legal move to defend the constitutionality of the state school funding system by helping to write a brief illustrating its inequalities and deficiencies.

At the Athens City School Board meeting last night, Vice President Jim Shirey expressed his discontent about the funding system. He and many others have been expressing feelings of frustration since 1991, when the Ohio Coalition for Equity and Adequacy filed suit against the state of Ohio.

DeRolph vs. State of Ohio still is tied up in the courts. In 1997, a judge ruled the system unconstitutional. He gave the state one year to fix the system. Shirey's brief, written with the Ohio Association for Gifted Children, maintains even after the legislature's corrections, the system still is not fair.

Shirey is studying the state's briefs to identify its arguments. The state claims the coalition must prove the system unconstitutional again because actions of the state legislature are assumed constitutional until proven otherwise, Shirey said. Therefore, the school funding system is considered rational until proven otherwise.

Shirey said the school funding system is not constitutional because school districts like Federal Hocking Local, with a per pupil valuation of approximately $55,000, will not receive additional funding while a school district in the Cincinnati area, with a per pupil valuation of $325,000, will receive an 8 percent increase.

"Any system that will zero out Federal Hocking...is totally irrational," Shirey said.

In other school board news:

n The board approved an agreement to set up a safe school telephone helpline, which is a 1-800 number that will allow students to report any suspicious activities. Board President Roger Watson said he hopes the helpline will be functioning by October.

n The board also approved a contract with Columbia Gas of Ohio. The district does not buy gas from Columbia, but uses the company's line to transport the district's gas to the school buildings, said Business Manager Carl Martin.

n The board also selected a company to be construction manager for the proposed renovation of the Middle School. The Quandel Group will coordinate efforts to find a construction company to renovate the building, Martin said.

n The meeting's academic spotlight, which focuses on student groups, was the Family Careers and Community Leaders of America. This is a class of eighth graders at Athens Middle School that plans civic activities, such as supporting the red ribbon campaign against drug abuse and distributing donated gifts to the less fortunate during the holidays.