(Disclosure: Rose Law Group represents Ann Siner of My Sister’s Closet and Judge John Buttrick in their litigation efforts against 208.)
By Laura Gomez | Arizona Mirror
Backers of the Invest in Education Act say the voter-approved tax hike on the rich to increase teacher pay and boost school funding has a future, despite last week’s Arizona Supreme Court ruling that the spending plan is likely unconstitutional.
The Invest in Education Act, which won nearly 52% of the vote in November as Proposition 208, adds a 3.5% surcharge on all income greater than $250,000 for individuals or $500,000 for joint filers.
The Arizona Supreme Court ruled that Prop. 208 can’t evade a constitutional limit on school spending, and said its proposed spending is likely unconstitutional as a result. But the court stopped short of blocking the measure from going into effect, and instead remanded the case to a trial court to gather evidence on whether the spending will exceed those restrictions.
Leaders of Stand for Children and Children’s Action Alliance, two organizations that are part of the coalition that worked to pass Prop. 208, said the Supreme Court was premature in determining — without evidence — that schools will be violating the state constitution if they receive and spend from funds collected through Prop. 208.
“When you actually look at the history of the expenditure cap, the limits and how they work, and how the funding flows, there’s room to argue that Prop. 208 very much works within the cap constitutionally,” said Rebecca Gau, executive director of Stand for Children.
