Fringe lawmakers and business interests looking to derail most of the provisions of Proposition 208-Invest in Ed were dealt a blow when Judge John Hannah Jr. of Maricopa County Superior Court dismissed most of their latest attempt to undo the public school funding ballot initiative.
The Court found that the assertion from the anti fully fund public school parties that people could not vote to tax themselves in a ballot initiative lacked merit.
Apparently, these know-nothing lawmakers and business interests forgot about another citizen passed voter initiative that gives public schools supplemental funding based on the state sales tax: Proposition 301.
The attorney for the Invest in Ed ruling, Roopali Desai, hailed the judge’s decision in comments to AZ Central, calling it “a plus for direct democracy…and upholds many of the tenets of direct democracy in Arizona, such as the people’s ability to tax themselves and to direct state spending to specific causes, as long as a funding source other than the state general fund is identified.”
Commenting on the Judge’s ruling, Joe Thomas, the President of the Arizona Education Association (AEA,) issued a statement that read:
“Today, INVESTinED had another victory in court. A Maricopa County Superior Court judge dismissed all but one claim in the lawsuit legislators filed against the Invest in Education Act. We are still waiting on a final ruling from the Arizona Supreme Court on a prior appeal that will address the one remaining claim at issue in the case.
This is another win for students and educators. For decades, our state’s leaders have underfunded public education. Arizona is suffering a schoolteacher and staff shortage, our school buildings are crumbling, and our textbooks and technology are outdated. The pandemic has only made these problems worse. That’s why educators gathered petitions and reached out to voters to get INVESTinED passed. That’s why Arizona voters passed INVESTinED – to fund our schools when our state’s leaders failed.
The court released its ruling this morning granting our motion to dismiss the claims, except for one claim regarding whether the Invest in Education Act can exempt itself from the district expenditure limits.
This victory comes at an opportune time. Right now, legislators are negotiating the state budget. The current proposed budget would reduce state revenue to give tax cuts to the rich – another attack on INVESTinED and the work we accomplished together. We need your voice to be loud and make clear to your elected officials that we want a bipartisan budget that invests in public education without permanent tax cuts.”
David Lujan, the head of the Children’s Action Alliance relayed:
“The ruling supports what we have been saying all along – that these claims have no merit and it is just an attempt by opponents of Prop 208 to quash the will of 1.7 million Arizona voters who enacted the measure last November.”
Rebecca Gau of Stand for Children Arizona also released a statement, offering:
“This victory for education funding advocates comes at a time when budget negotiations are threatening to cut more from state resources through tax cuts for the wealthiest Arizonans. We hope that state policymakers understand the constitutional protections afforded voters and stop their attempts to block much-needed funding for Arizona’s schools and economy, as well as their attempts to cut revenue for the state.”
Still Waiting for a Decision from the Arizona State Supreme Court.
While this ruling is welcome, public school advocates are anxiously waiting for a ruling on the constitutionality of Proposition 208 from the Arizona State Supreme Court whose members are considering a petition if the grants in Invest in Ed go against state spending limits.
On the pending Supreme Court action, the AEA’s Mr. Thomas said:
“While we are concerned as to why it has been nearly two months since the Court heard arguments with no decision announced, we are confident of the constitutionality of Invest In Ed, and we look forward to the Court upholding the Act so educators can begin planning for the increased support and opportunities for learning Invest In Ed offers our students.”
Mr. Lujan offered:
“We hope the Supreme Court rules in a similar manner so that we can get this new funding to our public schools that desperately need it.”
Public Schools, especially after the ravages of the COVID 19 Pandemic, are desperate for financial stability.
They need to be fully funded for the first time in almost 12 years and attempts by reactionary anti-public school legislators to circumvent the people’s will in the budget process and deprive learning institutions of the monies they desperately need are acts of gross cruelty to children and educators.
Hopefully, the Arizona Supreme Court will conclude that Invest in Ed is constitutional and the new funding will flow to schools on schedule.
Hopefully.
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