School districts sue the state over $1 billion in unfunded mandates

http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle

Jill Tucker, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, November 22, 2007
 

A group of school districts sued the state Wednesday, saying lawmakers have used schools like a credit card for years by charging up a $1 billion debt that is long overdue.

The lawsuit, joined by the California School Board Association, claims state officials haven't kept their end of a constitutional requirement: If elected officials pass a law that requires funding, the state has to pay the tab.

There are 38 laws on the books that will cost schools an estimated $160 million in staff time or resources, said Richard Hamilton, director of the school board association's Education Legal Alliance.
That includes costs associated with administering the High School Exit Exam, keeping immunization records, creating school safety plans and running habitual truant programs, among others.

"It adds up," he said. "And it adds up in a hurry."

In 1979, voters passed Proposition 4, which required Sacramento to pay for its legislative mandates. In recent years, the state has budgeted a token $1,000 for the school-related laws - falling well short of actual costs.

State officials call the unpaid amount their "credit card debt."

Last year, the Legislature appropriated $900 million to help pay off the backlog, but it wasn't enough, Hamilton said.
Even after that payment, the state still owed schools $889 million, including interest, plus this year's current bill of $160 million.
Because of a projected $10 billion state budget deficit this year, it's unlikely the schools will see the money any time soon unless a court requires it.

"There's no doubt that school districts are owed reimbursement for mandates," said Steve Maviglio, spokesman for Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez. "Unfortunately, the overall budget situation has forced us to defer mandate payments for schools and everyone else."

School districts in San Jose, Riverside and Clovis are among those who joined the suit, filed in San Diego County Superior Court.
The state of California, state Finance Director Michael Genest and state Controller John Chiang are named as defendants.

In San Francisco, school officials said the state owes the district several million dollars in unpaid mandates. Each year, district officials add up the costs related to dozens of state requirements, and then submit a claim for reimbursement to the state. It's a grueling bureaucratic process, said Myong Leigh, San Francisco Unified deputy superintendent for policy and operations. And then school officials wait by the mailbox for the checks that never come, or fall short.

"A few million dollars would go a heck of a long way to funding different priorities," Leigh said.

The lawsuit is the latest in a string of legal challenges filed by education officials and advocates seeking back pay owed to the state's schools.

Last year, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger settled a lawsuit over money owed under Proposition 98's minimum funding guarantee, resulting in a $3 billion boost for the education budget this year.

Online Resource
To see the lawsuit, go to:
www.csba.org