CSBA, ACSA join Prop. 98 lawsuit agains Schwarzenegger 

The Education Legal Alliance of the California School Boards Association, in conjunction with the Association of California School Administrators, has filed to intervene in the legal battle to require Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to restore $3.1 billion owed to California’s public schools and community colleges under Proposition 98.

The California Teachers Association and state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell sued Schwarzenegger last August, charging the governor and other officials with failing to provide the minimum education funding guaranteed under Proposition 98, which voters added to the state constitution in 1988. The Jan. 27 filing seeks to make CSBA and ACSA parties to the suit and will give them a voice in any settlement negotiations.

“This lawsuit signifies that the education community will not stand for the governor’s unconstitutional denial of funds,” said CSBA Executive Director Scott P. Plotkin. “As interveners, CSBA and ACSA will be able to ensure that the interests of all school districts and county offices of education are protected in this important lawsuit.”

The suit arose from Gov. Schwarzenegger’s failure to honor the terms of a December 2003 agreement he made with the Education Coalition, composed of CSBA, ACSA, CTA and six other organizations representing parents and school employees, board members and administrators. The coalition permitted the governor to suspend Proposition 98 in the 2004-05 budget year, temporarily reducing education funding by an agreed-upon $2 billion.

The Legislature formalized the agreement in law as Chapter 213 of the Statutes of 2004, spelling out the exact amount of funding to be subtracted in 2004-05. As revenues surpassed expectations in 2004, schools became entitled to an additional $1.8 billion beyond that budgeted for 2004-05.

But the governor withheld those funds, and he compounded the impact on schools last year by basing 2005-06 school funding on the lower amount. This denied schools an additional $1.3 billion, for a total of $3.1 billion.

“The lawsuit is necessary in order to ensure that the Proposition 98 guarantee is correctly calculated, thus guaranteeing that school districts and community colleges will receive the revenue to which they are entitled in 2004-05, 2005-06 and in future budget years,” Plotkin said.