WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) - Testimony has ended in a lawsuit alleging that Delaware officials are failing to provide adequate educational opportunities for disadvantaged students, partly because local school property tax collections are based on assessments that are decades old.
The judge said Thursday that he would accept post-trial briefs from attorneys for the city of Wilmington, the NAACP and a group called Delawareans for Educational Opportunity, and from opposing lawyers representing the state's three counties, before issuing his ruling.
A separate trial in which state officials are the defendants will be held later.
The plaintiffs say the counties are violating Delaware's constitution and state law by not assessing properties at fair market value. The most recent assessments were done in 1987 in Kent County, 1983 in New Castle County and 1974 in Sussex County.
