The Connecticut Supreme Court will hear oral arguments next month in a long-awaited case dealing with education-funding inequities between municipalities.

Last September, in Connecticut Coalition for Justice in Education Funding v. Rell, Superior Court Judge Thomas Moukawsher issued a ruling declaring the state's method for distributing education aid was “irrational and unconstitutional.” In reading from the bench, the judge noted the state legislature had recently stripped away $5 million in education aid from some of the neediest school systems, transferring funds to wealthier districts: “In desperate times, $5 million is a lot of money,” he said. The judge imposed a six-month deadline on the state to develop a plan to overhaul its education-funding distribution system.

The state appealed to the Connecticut Supreme Court, which agreed to hear the case and temporarily put the deadline on hold. Originally brought on behalf of 15 students and their families in 2005, CCJEF v. Rell will be heard by the state's high court on Sept. 28.