State Supreme Court Hands Down Ruling

The state Supreme Court today ended its involvement in the twelve-year Arkansas school funding case, praising legislators for their work in changing the education funding system. The court made a four-to-three decision not to keep longterm oversight of public schools and to stop hearing arguments in the Lake View school case. Although dissenting justices questioned the court`s resolve, Justice Robert Brown`s majority opinion clarified that the court hasn`t wavered in its effort to make sure the school system is equally and sufficiently funded. But Brown wrote that the process of fixing the system would take years. The decision said that it was beyond the court`s constitutional duty to monitor the Legislature`s ongoing, longterm efforts to improve school funding. The Supreme Court had been embroiled in the Lake View School District`s lawsuit against the state, which began in 1992. Lake View claimed Arkansas failed to ensure that school districts were being funded evenly and intervenors also questioned if the state was spending enough on education overall. ----- The Supreme Court ruled in the case in November 2002 and gave Arkansas until January First of this year to find remedies. Legislators responded by devising a Two-point-seven (m) million dollar funding formula and by consolidating 57 small districts in a special session that ended earlier this year. It was unclear whether the Supreme Court would continue to monitor the remedies until today`s announcement. Brown wrote that the Legislature`s actions in the special session were -- quote -- "truly impressive." But dissenting justices said the various plans had no guarantees. Justice Tom Glaze wrote that the court was showing its weakness for the first time by dropping the case and questioned whether the state would keep the new funding levels beyond 2005. Chief Justice Betty Dickey and Justice Donald Corbin also dissented.