Groups' suit alleges state has failed in funding K-12
Education advocates say the state has not fully funded Arizona's K-12 system for the coming budget year, in violation of the state Constitution.
If the education groups prevail in a case before the state Supreme Court, it could mean the Legislature must find an additional $61 million at a time when many are predicting ongoing shortfalls.
The case revolves around a long-running debate over the language of an education-funding law that voters approved a decade ago.
Proposition 301 called for the state to adjust spending for state aid to education and "other components" by 2 percent or the rate of inflation, whichever was lower. Those other components include, most notably, transportation.
For the past 10 years, lawmakers have done just that, funding both areas.
But when they put together the fiscal 2011 budget, which begins July 1, they relied on another interpretation of the law that allowed them to choose either the basic state-aid formula or the "other components." They opted for the less-costly "other," and directed the increases toward school-transportation costs.
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