One of the issues lawmakers may have to consider in the budget, if not this year then over the next couple, is funding for school construction and maintenance.
A coalition of education groups Monday morning is filing a lawsuit against the state, arguing the Legislature and governor have essentially created an illegal system for paying for school construction. They met at Landmark Elementary School in Glendale to make the announcement.
With me to explain is Tim Ogle, executive director of the Arizona School Boards Association, which is one of the plaintiffs in the suit.
Tim Hogan, one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs, won a similar lawsuit against the state in 1994. He said at that time the state Supreme Court ruled that funding capital improvements through local tax payers, with things like bonds and overrides, is unconstitutional because it creates a system of rich and poor districts.
"That’s an unfair system," Hogan said. "It’s unfair to schools, it’s unfair to students, and it’s unfair to taxpayers."
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has proposed $17 million in one time funding in next year’s budget to cover school construction and maintenance. At a press conference Monday morning though, Hogan and several plaintiffs argued that’s not enough as immediate capital needs at just Glendale Elementary School District total over $50 million.
