The system is so unfair it's almost humorous.

But there's nothing funny in this case because our children are the victims.In Pennsylvania, the quality of public school education, it seems, is directly proportionate to the value of real estate within the school district.Take Panther Valley, for example. That district received just $12,022 per student in local and state funding during the 2005-06 school year. And this despite the reality that the district has an equalized tax millage rate that happens to be 27th highest of some 500 districts in the state.On the other hand, upscale Ardmore area-Lower Merion along the elegant Main Line of suburban Philadelphia received $26,700 per student. The equalized millage rate there is just 14.7 percent, about half of Panther Valley's.That area, by the way, includes some of the wealthiest communities in the country. And for that simple reason, the state affords their children more resources that can provide for a better education.A Nov. 10 lawsuit filed by a group of parents, organizations and school districts, including Panther Valley, charges that the state's education-funding system is "irrational and inequitable."The lawsuit alleges that the present system "discriminates against children based on where they live and the wealth of their communities."Last Thursday, Panther Valley District Superintendent Dennis Kergick had sobering words."As professional educators and as advocates for our children and parents, we recognize that we have a civic duty and responsibility to act in a moral and ethical fashion," Kergick said. "We cannot wait any longer."Those morals and ethics have led Panther Valley and nearby Shenandoah Area School District to join in the lawsuit against the Department of Education and other state defendants.The cause has great merit.Pennsylvania's unfair method of funding education is a dinosaur that should have gone extinct long ago.A child's ZIP code shouldn't make any difference in the quality of education received. But for too many years, it has.The proof is in the tax figures, real estate values, and related reimbursement levels.It's basic math. Numbers don't lie.Let's hope upcoming litigation finally corrects a grave injustice and inspires a wise, fair solution to funding education. Perhaps personal income tax or sales tax is the answer, or a combination thereof, or something entirely different.It's time to put all Pennsylvania children on a level playing field.For once, the state must acknowledge that a child's education shouldn't be based on the value of the house he lives in.There's a lesson to be learned here real estate taxes aren't a smart way to fund our schools.By DONALD R. SERFASSdserfass@tnonline.com