By Howard Fischer | AZ Capitol Times
Key Points:
- Republican leaders seek to block court order to fix school funding system
- Judge Dewain Fox declares current system unconstitutional, citing unsafe buildings and lack of equipment
- His ruling may halt state funding if schools remain unfixed
Calling it an illegal intrusion on their authority, Republican legislative leaders are moving to block — or at least delay — a court order requiring them to fix the system of public school funding that left some students in disrepaired buildings and without the equipment necessary to learn.
Attorneys for Senate President Warren Petersen and House Speaker Steve Montenegro are telling the Arizona Court of Appeals that the directive to fix the system from Maricopa County Superior Court Dewain Fox is flawed.
They argue that the judge exceeded his authority and that it is solely up to the Legislature to determine education policy. And what that means, they are telling the state Court of Appeals, is it is lawmakers — and not the courts — who decide what minimum facilities are needed and, by extension, how much the state needs to spend.
