The Arizona Legislature must enact a constitutional financing system that enables public schools to construct and maintain facilities that meet an adequate standard, a state judge ordered this week.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Dewain Fox issued a final judgment in a lawsuit that spotlighted school districts' unequal access to local property taxes and bonds. In an August ruling, Fox found the current system
"Although the state, through the legislature, has discretion as to the design of a capital funding system, it must do so in a manner that meets the minimum requirements of a system that complies with the general and uniform clause of the Arizona Constitution," according to Fox's order, which he put on hold for 90 days to allow for an appeal.
In August, Arizona's Republican legislative leaders said they would appeal.
If Fox's order is stayed by a state appellate or the Arizona Supreme Court, state lawmakers would have eight months from final resolution of the case to enact a funding fix, according to the final judgment.
In the absence of an appeal, the legislature would have eight months to comply with the order.
The 2017 lawsuit filed by school districts and others contended insufficient state funding for a capital finance system and minimum building standards enacted in the wake of a 1994 high court ruling made schools dependent "largely if not exclusively upon the property wealth in the district and the
The trial, which began in May 2024, was delayed for years as plaintiffs sought settlements. With the election of a Democratic governor and attorney general in 2022, the defense in the case was turned over to Arizona's Republican House speaker and Senate president, who are listed as intervenors in the lawsuit.
