Illinois might need a new way to fund its public schools if a group of school superintendents has its way.

The Committee for Educational Rights, a group of Illinois school superintendents, filed a lawsuit in Chicago’s Cook County Court Tuesday challenging the formula used to fund Illinois’ state schools.

“There is inequality and inadequacy of school funding because the wealthier districts are richer in property taxes,” said Ted Wetekamp, committee vice chairman and superintendent of Freeport schools. The committee has spent more than 18 years researching the formula which uses property taxes to determine school funding.

Children deserve equal educational opportunities no matter where they are born, he said.

Because the $3,600 DeKalb spends on each student is 20 percent less than the state average, DeKalb could benefit, said interim superintendent Max Brantner. The state pays about 22 percent—about $792—of the $3,600, leaving local residents to pay the rest in property taxes, Brantner said.

Wetekamp said the court process could take years, depending on possible delays and the state’s plea, he said.

Although each state constitution is different, a court ruling in New Jersey could help Illinois’ case, Wetekamp said. In June, a New Jersey court said the poorer districts have to spend about as much on each student as the wealthier districts by the 1991-92 school year.

If the Illinois lawsuit is successful, the judge can order the legislature to decide on funding, Wetekamp said.

At a Tuesday press conference in Chicago, Gov. James Thompson said that although he has asked the legislature for more education dollars, he is not sure this lawsuit could or should be won, a government spokesman said. Thompson said he will leave the decision to the legislature and new governor Jim Edgar.