Education Financing Faces New Challenge, Based On Facilities

The former state Supreme Court justice who led one school district faction’s now-dismissed legal challenge to state financing for public education says a new lawsuit will be filed next month.

Robert Huntley said the new legal challenge will likely focus on the state’s failure to address the backlog of school facility needs that is approaching $1 billion statewide.

The original lawsuit, filed about four years ago, claimed the state was not providing enough aid to the 112 districts so they could provide the thorough education mandated by the state constitution. In refining the focus of that legal challenge, the state Supreme Court said the key areas of responsibility were materials, curriculum, transportation and facilities.

The state Legislature prompted dismissal of the lawsuit last summer after completely revamping the method of distributing state aid to the districts. That eliminated the core issue of the dispute - the distribution formula.

At the same time, lawmakers pumped an unprecedented $92.5 million more into the aid package to assure sufficient cash to meet the demands of the new distribution formula. The formula addresses materials, transportation and curriculum as well as salaries.

But the Legislature declined to take any action on the question of facilities, in part because there was not enough cash to address the issue and because there is relatively strong opposition to state involvement in school building financing.

Huntley said the principles outlined in a recent Arizona court case will provide the foundation for the new Idaho lawsuit.

In Arizona, a group of citizens and school districts successfully sued the state for inadequately financing facilities to the detriment of education.