MDN.ORG:
Missouri Digital News
MDN.ORG
Mo. Digital News
Missouri Digital News
MDN.ORG:
Mo. Digital News
MDN.ORG:
Missouri Digital News
MDN.ORG:
Missouri Digital News
MDN.ORG
Mo. Digital News
Missouri Digital News
MDN.ORG:
Mo. Digital News
MDN.ORG:
Missouri Digital News
JEFFERSON CITY - Missouri's Democratic attorney general has moved to throw out the lawsuit against the school's funding system -- asking that the Republican legislature be given time to fix the problems.
A motion filed by the Missouri attorney general's office has asked the Cole County Circuit Court to postpone any action on a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the state's school funding formula.
"We have a new governor-elect and new legislative leaders who have stated their commitment to finding a solution to this public policy challenge," said Attorney General Jay Nixon in a statement.
The official court filing from the attorney general's office said delaying the lawsuit will save money and time if the legislature passes a funding formula rewrite in it's next session.
"Considering there is bipartisan agreement on this particular issue, it's something that we expect can be fully disposed of within the next six months," said Jim Gardner, a spokesman for the attorney general's office.
However, Alex Bartlett, the attorney representing the plaintiffs, said it will be counterproductive for the court to delay this case if the General Assembly does not write any meaningful legislation.
"I do not agree with the discovery that this would be all for not if a new formula was written," he said.
The Democratic attorney general's move got a partial endorsement from the incoming governor, although not an outright endorsement.
"He's in favor of more time to work with the legislature and concerned citizens from every part of Missouri to rewrite Missouri's foundation formula," Jackson said.
Tyler Laney, chairman of the Committee for Educational Equality (CEE), the plaintiff group representing more than 250 school districts in the case, disagrees with a possible hold on the lawsuit.
The lawsuit, currently being considered in Cole County Circuit Court, declares Missouri's public school funding formula unconsitutional. The group challenging the state says public school funding violates the constitution because it is inequitable and inadequate by providing magnitutes different funding levels per student among school districts.
"I don't see this as a reasonable solution," he said. "The reason we're in court now is because we have tried to work with General Assembly members -- only after finding no avenues did we pursue this course of action as far as a lawsuit."
Laney said that without a specific plan from the legislators and the governor's office, he is hesitant to think that anything good will come out of waiting.
He said he wants to see the legislature work off of a concise plan that establishes the constitutional requirements of a new funding formula.
Throughout his campaign, Governor-elect Matt Blunt stressed education as his top priority and said the state needed to rewrite the state's school funding formula.
"He has always said and always believed that the state is never well served when courts get involved in writing public policy," said Spence Jackson, spokesman for Blunt's transition office. "One of his first actions as governor will be to bring people from diverse backgrounds together to craft a formula that is fair and equitable."
Jackson said Blunt has already spoken with several members of the legislature on the process of rewriting the school foundation formula and is encouraged by the willingness he has seen.
At his first statehouse news conference after the election, Blunt said he planned within weeks to set up a process for drafting a new funding formula proposal.
"My desire would be for us to beat a court decision," Blunt said. "I believe we seldom benefit in government when we allow the courts to direct the other parts of government and tell them what to do."
Although Nixon's move would seem to be a boost for Blunt's position, Blunt's spokesman said the two had not talked about the matter prior to Nixon's motion.