DEROLPH V. OHIO--William Phillis, left, Executive Director of the Ohio Coalition for Equity & Adequacy of School Funding, confers with Nicholas Pittner, lead attorney for the plaintiffs in the DeRolph v. Ohio, School Funding case, during a news conference concerning the Plaintiffs' brief, at the Ohio Statehouse, in Columbus, Ohio, on Thursday, Sept. 2, 1999. In the 1997 landmark DeRolph v. Ohio decision, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled that the state's method of funding public schools was unconstitutional, and ordered the state to submit a new plan, which Perry County Judge Linton Lewis later ruled as-still lacking. The state will file its final brief within 20 days and the Supreme Court will then make its ruling. In the foreground is Paul Folmer, of the Coalition. (JACK KUSTRON/photoj.com)

SCHOOL FUNDING--William Phillis, Executive Director, the Ohio Coalition for Equity & Adequacy of School Funding, gestures during a news conference, at the Ohio Statehouse, in Columbus, Ohio, on Thursday, Sept. 2, 1999. Phillis spoke about Plaintiffs' brief, filed with the Ohio Supreme Court, which argues that the state's method of funding public schools remains unconstitutional. (JACK KUSTRON/photoj.com)