An Arizona judge has ordered the state to fix its school facilities funding system, a decision that Crane School District says reinforces the state’s responsibility to adequately fund schools.
The ruling, issued March 4, gives lawmakers eight months to create a constitutional funding system. It’s the result of a 2017 lawsuit brought forward by four plaintiff districts, including Crane.
Last August, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Dewain Fox initially determined the state of Arizona was inadequately providing for its public schools.
The Arizona Constitution requires the state to establish and maintain a “general and uniform public school system.” In Glendale Elementary School District v. State of Arizona, plaintiffs successfully argued that the state’s capital funding model creates a divide between schools able to meet basic needs through stronger local tax bases and those that cannot.
Following months of back-and-forth over the form of the ruling, Fox finalized his order with a permanent injunction requiring the state to fix its capital funding system for school buildings and facilities.
In an email, Crane Chief of Finance and Operations Dale Ponder commented that the case is about ensuring “all Arizona students have access to safe, well-maintained and properly equipped schools.”
He said Crane has been fortunate and grateful to benefit from voter-approved bonds and a capital override, allowing students and staff to work in supportive environments.
But he added the responsibility to provide adequate school facilities should not rest solely on local taxpayers.
“The Court’s final ruling helps reaffirm Arizona’s constitutional responsibility to maintain a school funding system that is general and uniform while supporting the students in every community across the state,” he said. “We appreciate the Court’s thoughtful and thorough review and look forward to the next steps to ensure that all students in Arizona’s public schools have the resources they need to succeed.”
Ponder said the district seeks “a reliable and sustainable system to proactively maintain the investments made in its facilities and to address its capital needs.”
Under the current system, he explained that districts must wait until a deficiency arises, obtain quotes to restore it to the state’s minimum standard and then request funding through the Building Renewal Grant program.
“Presently, there is a statewide funding gap of just over $245 million to address the known facility needs of all schools, which requires the district to use bond proceeds to simply meet the minimum standards,” Ponder said. “This effectively shifts the financial burden from the state to local taxpayers. The current legislative appropriation of $200 million for the entire state is insufficient to meet these needs.”
He added that the School Facilities Division, which administers these grants, notes grant awards may take two to three years to be issued.
During that time, Ponder commented that “costs may increase and, in some cases, deficiencies could further deteriorate beyond repair, potentially displacing students and causing significant disruption to their academic experience and opportunities.”
Along with the final ruling, Judge Fox issued a 90-day stay on his order, giving state lawmakers time to appeal. Senate President Warren Petersen and House Speaker Steve Montenegro filed a notice of appeal on March 13.
Despite the appeal, the plaintiffs are quite confident their case will hold up on appeal as lead counsel Danny Adelman from the Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest previously told KAWC.
"Nobody ever says never when you're dealing with lawsuits,” he said. “But the judge who heard this case was extremely careful and methodical, and he made it very clear there is this minimum that our Constitution says, and we're below that minimum and that's unconstitutional."
Reporting for this article is supported by a grant from the Arizona Local News Foundation.
