Answer:
The central issues in the San Antonio v. Rodriguez (1973) case were related to the constitutionality of a public school financing system that relied heavily on local property taxes. The case raised questions about whether this method of funding public schools resulted in wealth-based disparities in educational opportunities and violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
The plaintiffs, parents of students in the Edgewood Independent School District in San Antonio, Texas, claimed that the reliance on local property taxes resulted in large budget inequalities between school districts with and without property. They claimed that the gap in funding resulted in unequal educational opportunities, infringing on pupils' constitutional rights.
The case raised the question of whether the local property tax-based method of supporting public schools violated the Equal Protection Clause by discriminating against pupils in low-income districts. The plaintiffs contended that education is a fundamental right and that the system's financial discrepancies hindered equitable access to quality education.
However, in a 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court decided against the plaintiffs and affirmed the constitutionality of the school financing scheme. The majority ruling found that education was not clearly stated in the Constitution as a fundamental right and that the system did not purposefully discriminate against any one group. The Court determined that disparities in educational opportunities based on wealth were not subject to strict scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause.
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