By Gary Grado | Arizona Capitol Times
Attorneys for school districts and the Legislature are going to use the Court of Appeals to help them resolve a lawsuit over school funding.
Stephanie Grisham, a spokeswoman for House Speaker David Gowan, said all the parties to the lawsuit have voluntarily agreed to the talks, which will be mediated by judges John Gemmill, Peter Swann and Kenton Jones.
Grisham said the negotiations will be confidential, so she declined to comment further.
Judge Katherine Cooper of Maricopa County Superior Court on Jan. 14 ordered the parties into settlement negotiations to be presided over by the Arizona Court of Appeals. She reversed the order a few hours later and simply suggested they go to the table after attorneys for the state and Legislature questioned her authority to compel another branch of government to negotiate.
