Lake View Sch. Dist. No. 25 v. Huckabee, No. 01-836 (Ark. May 31, 2007)
The Arkansas Supreme Court, based on the findings of court-appointed special masters, has ruled that the state’s latest school financing plan satisfies the adequacy requirements of the state constitution. The court concluded: "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." This decision follows a 2005 ruling by the Arkansas Supreme Court to reopen litigation over the state's system of funding public school education to determine if the state’s school financing scheme satisfied its constitutional duty to provide "an adequate and substantially equal education for all Arkansas students." In 2006, the court issued an opinion deferring issuance of the mandate in this case for 180 days and reappointing the Special Masters to file an additional report evaluating whether the constitutional deficiencies referred to in the court’s 2005 opinion had been cured. After reviewing the Special Masters’ final report, the court stated: "The Masters have now found that the General Assembly "addressed the need for state assistance with public school academic facilities in a substantial and commendable fashion." It then listed the specific actions taken by the legislature that demonstrated its compliance with the court’s 2005 opinion. It noted that "[a] critical component of this undertaking has been the comprehensive
system for accounting and accountability, which has been put in place to provide state oversight of school-district expenditures." It added, "What is especially meaningful to this 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."
Lake View Sch. Dist. No. 25 v. Huckabee, No. 01-836 (Ark. May 31, 2007)
[Full opinion]
[Editor’s Note: Background on the case, including a summary of the 2005 decision, is available below. Although many involved in the protracted litigation voice satisfaction with the resolution of the case, the Fort Smith Times Record reports that some remain critical. Those praising the decision cite the funding increases allocated by the legislature since the inception of the case, while critics point to continuing problems with inequitable funding among districts and uneven teacher salaries.]
[NSBA School Law pages on Lake View Sch. Dist. No. 25 v. Huckabee]
[NSBA School Law pages on governor’s superintendent proposal]
Fort Smith Times Record
By Rob Moritz
[Full story]