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School funding constitutional, court says Friday, Jun 1, 2007 By Rob Moritz Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - The Arkansas Supreme Court declared the state's system of public school financing constitutional Thursday, bringing to a close the long-running Lake View school funding case. The high court's unanimous decision capped 15 years of litigation that prompted hundreds of millions of dollars in new education funding, sweeping changes in academic and accountability standards, and consolidation of small rural schools. The Legislature this year increased minimum state aid to public schools by $121 million and allocated $456 million, nearly half of a $919 million budget surplus, to overhauling crumbling school buildings and equipment statewide. "The General Assembly has now taken the required and necessary legislative steps to assure that the school children of this state are provided an adequate education and a substantially equal educational opportunity," the high court said in an 11-page opinion written by Justice Robert L. Brown. The justices noted lawmakers' work this year and also commended the Legislature's commitment to a biennial educational adequacy review and making education the state's top funding priority, saying they are "the cornerstones for assuring future compliance." "What is especially meaningful to the court is the masters' finding that the General Assembly has expressly shown that constitutional compliance in the field of education is an ongoing task requiring constant study, review and adjustment," Brown wrote. In 2004 and again in 2005, the high court appointed two former Supreme Court justices to oversee progress the state was making in complying with an order to provide equal educational opportunities for all of Arkansas' 450,000 students. "Because we conclude that our system of public school financing is now in constitutional compliance, we direct the clerk of this court to issue the mandate in this case forthwith," the court said in an order Thursday in an order signed by all seven justices. "This is obviously an historic day," Gov. Mike Beebe said during a news conference a few hours after the Supreme Court released its decision. The now-defunct Lake View School District in Phillips County filed a lawsuit against the state in 1992, claiming inequitable support compared to other school districts. In 2002, the Supreme Court declared Arkansas' public school funding system unconstitutionally inequitable and inadequate. The Legislature increased school funding by $400 million in 2004 and added another $132 million in a 2006 special session. Last year, the court asked the special masters to assess legislation approved during the special session. The order came at the request of the Rogers, Barton-Lexa, Little Rock and Pulaski County Special school districts, which had argued that while the Legislature in 2006 did increase school funding by $132.5 million, it had not adequately addressed need school building repairs, programs for non-English speaking students and funding for rapidly growing school district. At a news conference Thursday, Beebe said he was pleased with the unanimous decision. "We are very happy with the result, but we acknowledge there is a lot of work to do," Beebe said, adding that it is now up to the Legislature and future governors to make sure the state continues to adequately fund education. "Anybody who thinks we're through has missed the point. This is an ever-changing and evolving target that requires constant vigilance," the governor said. David Matthews, attorney for the Rogers School District, said later, "Education reform is a journey, not a destination. It's very important that future general assemblies build on the success of this recent General Assembly rather than make the mistakes of the '80s, thinking we've accomplished this one and then moving on to other goals." Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, who spoke at the news conference with Beebe, said court's decision showed the Legislature and the state's executive branch of government "have done the right thing for the children of Arkansas." "We have laid the ground work for a world class education for every child in Arkansas, rich, poor, black, white, rural, urban, big schools, little schools, and it came from an enormous team of people who worked hard to do it," McDaniel said. The attorney general said Thursday's ruling was about more than the Legislature increasing funding for public schools. "Throwing money at our education system was never going to fix it, because we had to demonstrate why we were spending money and how we were spending money," McDaniel said. Sen. Shane Broadway, D-Bryant, who chaired the Academic Facilities Oversight Committee, described the Supreme Court's decision as "a very important day" for the state. State Education Commissioner Ken James said it was a "strong indication of what the legislative branch in concert with the executive branch have been able to do to demonstrate that we are moving in the right direction for all kids across the state." Rep. Chris Thyer, D-Jonesboro, House chairman of the Joint Budget Committee, said he was "giddy with excitement" about the court's decision to end the Lake View case. "We came into the session committed to get us out from under the Lake View case and we've done it, and for that I'm extremely proud and very excited," Thyer said. ------- Reporters John Lyon in Little Rock and Doug Thompson in Fayetteville contributed to this report. |
