ATLANTA — A lawsuit filed in federal court Tuesday alleged funding disparities at Historically Black Colleges and Universities across the state. One of the three HBCUs named in the lawsuit was underfunded by $600 million, the documents allege.
Minority state lawmakers and the attorneys representing several students, from state-funded HBCUs, gathered on the steps of the federal courthouse after filing the suit, which alleges the funding disparities in the university system. State Representative Sandra Scott was also present.
“Fort Valley State University would have received an additional $603 million over the last 30 years if funded at the same level as the University of Georgia," Scott said.
Fort Valley State University almuna Matrice Herring is one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. She said her experience at a publicly-funded HBCU wasn’t up to par, due to a lack of funding.
“We needed more buildings for students to stay in, we need more resources for us to use in classes,” said Herring.
The federal lawsuit filed against the State of Georgia and the Board of Regents for the University System aims to correct the funding gap.
“She (Herring) should not have had to endure all the unnecessary disparities compared to her counterpart at the University of Georgia. That person probably had the best of the best and was able to learn in a comfortable environment so we’re just simply asking for the same thing, there should not be two systems of education in Georgia,” said Carlos Moore, one of the attorneys on the case.
The attorneys said they hope to finalize how much Albany State and Savannah State universities, the other two publicly funded HBCUs named in the lawsuit, were also allegedly underfunded during the discovery.
The suit cites several legal precedents like Brown vs. Board of Education.
“Separate but equal is not constitutional in the field of education. We’re also suing under the Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin,” added attorney John Moore.
As the group waits on a response to the lawsuit, they have tough questions for state officials.
“To Gov. Kemp, to the Chancellor of the Board of Regents, 'Have you... ever held back resources from those who need it most?'" said Dr. James Beverly, the minority leader of the Georgia General Assembly.
11Alive reached out to the Board of Regents for a comment, but they said they could not give one at this time because they have not received the document as of yet.