An 18-year-old Lake Havasu High School student and the parents of 20 public school children (charter and district) filed two lawsuits in September 2009 against the state of Arizona over K-12 student funding.  The two suits were filed because the student and parents recognize that the way public school students are currently funded is grossly inequitable, unfair, and obsolete. 

The lawsuits recently survived the state’s motions to dismiss: a procedural move that would have ended the lawsuits and precluded discussion of the K-12 student funding facts. After the judge ruled in favor of the students, the state immediately sent subpoenas out to charter schools asking for such documents as (1) all leases and/or any contracts and/or agreements authorizing a charter school to possess and/or occupy the property located at (charter school address) from the date the charter school originated to the present and (2) any payroll records created and prepared by charter schools for the past three years. These are just two of the items the state requested from charter schools. The subpoenas were served as students were taking the all-important state-standardized AIMS test. Can you just imagine our teachers taking their breaks and standing at a copier – for weeks – trying to produce this information?  Is the 30-year-old system of school finance so broken that the state cannot figure out how much it funds its one million K-12 students?

The Association recognizes that our charter leaders and teachers are stretched thin and that deep budget cuts have exacerbated an already heavy workload. The Association hired attorneys to represent those schools – who are not parties to the lawsuits – that received subpoenas. As a movement, we must stand strong and united in the face of the adversity that we are facing. This includes the crippling budget cuts to our schools and the tactics being used by the state in response to these lawsuits. The strength of a constitutionally sound school funding law is that all students benefit from whatever expectation is set by the state. As the law works today, we create winners and losers, and that should not continue. It is time for Arizona to support the education of students in whatever public education setting they choose. We ought to be serious about student support and ignore those who attempt to pit different schools against each other.

Arizona currently has one million schoolchildren in the K-12 public education system. If you look at the lowest funded 10 percent, or 100,000 students, you will see that they will receive $7.5 billion less than the top 100,000 funded students during their K-12 career. Although the Arizona Constitution states that Arizona must provide a “general and uniform public education system,” the judge presiding over these lawsuits will need to decide, among other questions, whether a $7.5 billion funding difference is general and uniform. The two lawsuits filed on behalf of Arizona’s low-funded district and charter students ask the Court to rule that the disparities in student funding are not equitable and not constitutional. If the Court finds in favor of the plaintiffs, it will be then up to our elected officials to fix the broken school finance system. 

As the membership organization that serves over 80 percent of the state’s 509 charter schools, we are here to support and serve the greater charter movement.  If you have questions or concerns about this lawsuit, do not hesitate to contact us at info@azcharters.org.  You can also find the most up-to-date information on the lawsuits at www.studentequitynow.com.

Eileen Sigmund is President/CEO of the Arizona Charter Schools Association.