A study that Pennsylvania lawmakers used to bolster their defense in a landmark lawsuit over school funding disparities was wrong, Chalkbeat reports, and the updated version yields an adverse conclusion.

The Urban Institute updated the study to fix how it accounted for funds flowing to charter schools and now says it found signs of a regressive funding formula that shortchanges the state's poorest students, who received slightly less funding for their schools than wealthier students over time.

That imbalance is central to the case brought by six school districts against GOP legislative leaders, Gov. Tom Wolf, and others. By allowing the gaps to continue, the plaintiffs say Pennsylvania leaders have violated the state constitution's guarantee to equal access to a quality education.

While Wolf is a defendant, he has not contested the case's claims. But Republican legislative leaders have, arguing in a months-long trial this past winter that studies like the now-updated one from the Urban Institute — a D.C.-based think tank — undermine the plaintiffs' claims.

THE CONTEXT: Before the update, the Urban Institute found that poor students in Pennsylvania received 4% more funding than non-poor students in the 2018-19 school year, while Black and Hispanic students received 7% more funding than students of other racial and ethnic groups.

The revision says poor students in the state actually got 3% less, and Black and Hispanic students received 6% less than other students.

To support better outcomes for low-income pupils, education experts say more dollars should be flowing to them, Chalkbeat adds. 

A judge is expected to rule in the case this summer. It's unclear if this evidentiary update will have any bearing on that decision.

Chalkbeat says both plaintiffs and defendants declined comment.

The ties between school funding and educational outcomes have long been a political flashpoint in Pennsylvania — one reignited this budget season by a single sentence in an otherwise dry budget report, per Spotlight PA.

At the same time, there is no proof that a massive corporate tax break meant to help low-income students escape failing public schools is working as promised. Spotlight PA found that lack of oversight is intentional.

STAR PUPIL: Coming from a Pittsburgh high school with a low rate of college grads, Sean Russell has been accepted to Yale, Harvard, and Stanford Universities. PublicSource reports the achievement is drawing attention to a potentially game-changing program for students in struggling schools.

HEINZ HOUSE: A Massachusetts couple with a collection of more than 300 Heinz ketchup bottles inside their home also had a six-foot tall tribute bottle carved from a tree on the outside. A 2016 Bedford Citizen article delves into the couple's affinity for the Pennsylvania condiment company.

FOOD FAME: The Shakers — a religious movement that established footholds in Philadelphia, New York, and New England — is now inspiring high-end restaurants. Eater spoke with "one of the last" Shakers in America and it turns out he's not a fan of the development.

SWING STATE: After record highs in spots over the weekend and above-normal temperatures almost everywhere, a cold front is coming with showers today. After highs in the 80s, they'll be closer to 40 degrees tomorrow.

TIL: There is a 31-foot tall pyramid in Franklin County that weighs hundreds of tons and marks the birthplace of former President James Buchanan. If that's not your style of tribute, there's also a bobblehead.