BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — New York state is $5.9 billion behind in funding its schools and poor districts are owed far more than the wealthy ones, according to a report released Thursday by two education watchdog groups.

The amount owed includes $4.9 billion of the $5.5 billion that the state promised by 2011 after a court ruling upheld that it was violating a constitutional obligation to provide every student with a sound basic education, according to the report by the Alliance for Quality Education and Opportunity Action.