MANNING, S.C. - The trial in a lawsuit charging that poor, rural school districts don't receive enough money from the state drew closer to an end as lawyers defending the state rested their case this week.

State attorneys ended their rebuttal of the case, which relied on eight witnesses including a former Richland 1 principal who now specializes in shaping public education policy for the Legislature and the chairman of the House budget-writing committee. The other witnesses were college-level educators who study and research school reform, education finances and related public policy issues.

Defense witnesses, for the most part, acknowledged schools in high-poverty communities face monumental challenges delivering effective instruction to academically struggling students. They insisted, however, that their research has led them to conclude that providing more money to low-performing schools does not guarantee better grades.

Eight rural school districts have sued the state claiming the state shortchanges districts because of the way it funds education - a system that relies heavily on local property tax collections that can be paltry in rural areas.

The trial, so far, has played out in 98 days over 14 months and now goes into recess while Circuit Judge Thomas W. Cooper Jr. looks to schedule testimony from several more plaintiff witnesses.

Cooper then faces the task of deciding whether children in Allendale, Dillon 2, Florence 4, Hampton 2, Jasper, Lee, Marion 7 and Orangeburg 3 are getting a minimally adequate education.

The state Supreme Court ruled in April 1999 that the state constitution guarantees each child that opportunity. The 4-1 majority defined minimally adequate education as an ability to read, write, do math, grasp basic scientific principles and citizenship responsibilities in a safe building.

That decision returned the case to Cooper's court.

Plaintiffs' lawyers insist poor, rural schools are hampered by weak local economies unable to generate enough taxes to pay for remedial instruction that many underachieving students need.

To underscore that point, plaintiffs' lawyers Friday summoned Marion 7 superintendent Everette Dean back to the stand. Dean, who testified in August 2003, explained how cash-strapped schools in Brittons Neck and Rains-Centenary struggle to meet expenses.

Dean said Friday the $4.8 million in local, state and federal funds his district receives limits his flexibility in putting money toward higher salaries for experienced educators. His district's 78 teachers are paid $300 more than the state's minimum salary scale.

Defense attorney Jack Barnes confronted Dean with evidence showing Marion 7 opted not to shift money earmarked for specific programs into general instructional use, such as salaries - a move the Legislature approved during a budget crisis several years ago.

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Information from: The State, http://www.thestate.com/