Panther Valley was once again the center of attention as a lawsuit challenging the state’s system of funding K-12 education entered its second day.

For more than four hours, lawyers representing top-ranking state lawmakers cross-examined Superintendent David McAndrew Jr.

They questioned how McAndrew portrayed the district under direct examination on Monday. They presented him with exhibits showing signs of academic progress, videos showing clean classrooms, and financial reports disputing the district’s reported negative fund balance. McAndrew said it was possible for both to be accurate.

“Our job is to promote morale, not to say ‘look at these cables from the ceiling, or our roof leaking.’ That’s what we do as educators. There is a negative but we show the positive,” McAndrew said.

McAndrew, who was hired in 2020, is the first witness to take the stand in a lawsuit which alleges that the state is not living up to its constitutional requirements for education funding.

Six school districts filed the suit in 2014 against the governor, Department of Education, state Board of Education, and leaders of the state house and senate.

Attorney David Rodkey, representing House Speaker Brian Cutler, R-Lancaster, challenged McAndrew’s claim that the district will have a negative fund balance at the end of the year. Rodkey pointed to about $3.5 million which the district keeps in its budgetary reserve. McAndrew said that the budgetary reserve was made up of one-time COVID-19 relief funds. He said it will go toward the district’s 2021-22 budget.

The attorneys also took aim at the lawsuit’s claims that underfunding by the state has led to lower academic achievement for poorer districts.

They contrasted his testimony with sworn depositions given by school administrators in the years leading up to the trial. Before he retired in 2020, Superintendent Dennis Kergick said he believed academic growth did more to show a teacher’s effectiveness than test scores. They presented a record showing that Panther Valley often meets the state’s benchmarks for progress when it comes to student achievement.

A large part of the questioning from Thomas DeCesar, the attorney for Sen. Jake Corman, R-Centre, president pro tempore, involved the lawyers going through a long list of programs offered at Panther Valley, showing the diversity of its offerings. Many were electives and advanced courses added this year at the junior-senior high school using only existing teachers. They also included positions like the family development specialist, which is funded with grant money.

McAndrew previously testified that it was wrong that the district needed to use COVID-19 money to purchase Chromebooks for its students. DeCesar said administrators testified that the district had 12 laptops in each intermediate school classroom before COVID-19. Those laptops were purchased by the school’s PTO.

McAndrew said he doesn’t think neighboring school districts are open to consolidating when Rodkey asked him if that was an option.

Under redirect, lawyers for the districts presented screenshots showing less flattering aspects of the elementary school building: damaged ceiling and floor tiles, and a water-damaged courtyard with a pump which someone has to manually turn on to prevent rain from flooding classrooms. McAndrew said it was emotional to see things like a handicap ramp which can’t be used because it’s structurally unsound.

“It’s tough to see some of the stuff that we know our kids have to face on a daily basis,” McAndrew said. “They should be our priority more than anything.”