COLUMBUS — Cincinnati Public Schools on Monday joined a coalition of more than 500 schools urging the Ohio Supreme Court to reject the state's latest school-funding reform plan.

        The district says the $1.4 billion funding plan hurts Cincinnati because it gives most of the money to more-wealthy suburban schools. Ohio's third-largest school district filed a friend-of-the-court brief Monday with the Supreme Court.

        “They can't claim that this plan provides any level of equity,” said Rick Williams, president of the Cincinnati school board.

        Mr. Williams said that although the Cincinnati district has improved and is one of the largest in the state, it will receive only a 3 percent, or $4 million, increase in state funding under the new budget. That would provide only enough for the school district to break even, he said.

        “We're the most successful (urban district) and we're getting the least,” Mr. Williams said.

        School board member John Gilligan, a former Ohio governor, said the funding proposal will give most of the new state money to more-affluent suburban schools while ignoring the needs of urban and poor rural districts.

        “(The proposal) will deprive us of funding needed to build a first-class school system,” Mr. Gilligan said.

        Mr. Gilligan said the plan still relies too heavily on property taxes and does not provide a way to pay for $500 million in unfunded state mandates on schools.

        “I'm reasonably persuaded to think the Supreme Court will reject (the funding plan) again,” he said.

        The state claims it has done its job for all schools by satisfying concerns the Supreme Court outlined last summer.

        “We feel we've put together a constitutional plan,” said Joe Case, spokesman for the Ohio Attorney General's office.

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