BETWEEN THE LINES: School Reform Is Never Simple

The Arkansas Supreme Court has effectively added a major item to the state Legislature’s agenda this year.

The high court refused last week to reconsider its November decision to let school districts keep the extra money they raise from a constitutionally required 25-mill property tax. That’s the “uniform rate of tax” that all of the state’s school districts must levy for operation and maintenance of schools.

Because private property in some districts is more valuable than in others, 25 mills can produce more tax revenue than necessary to cover per-child spending established by the state.

Until school districts in Eureka Springs and Fountain Lake challenged the practice in court, that excess revenue went to the state and was redistributed to other school districts where the 25-mill tax generated less than the per-child spending requirement. It was all part of the financial balancing act the state does to assure that every child in Arkansas public schools is offered an adequate and equitable education.

Those words, “adequate” and “equitable,” should set oft bells in the heads of anyone who has paid attention to public school issues over the last decade or so.

An earlier Arkansas Supreme Court decision, part of historic Lake View School District litigation against the state, forcefully reminded state officials of its constitutional obligation to the schoolchildren of Arkansas.

The Lake View district, now defunct, wasn’t alone in the litigation. Rogers and Bentonville school districts were key participants, too, pressing adequacy as well as equity in school funding.

The Supreme Court decision in that case set in motion all manner of reforms, including a push for a constitutional amendment to require the 25-mill levy.

Notably, it was a divided court (4-3) last week that decided the Eureka Springs and Fountain Lake districts could keep the money they collect above and beyond what the state determines each year is the amount per student needed to meet that “adequate and equitable” funding requirement.

As one former lawmaker reportedly said after the November decision, it appeared as if “equity just walked out the door” since districts with greater property wealth could keep and spend those tax dollars at home.

It was never likely that the Supreme Court would reconsider its recent ruling. That seldom happens. Last week’s announcement just confirmed what state officials had expected. It is time for the Legislature to get involved again in order to preserve the reforms that resulted from Lake View.

The downside of that inevitability is that the Legislature, because of term limits, has changed dramatically. Few people who were involved in the response to Lake View remain in office. They may not fully appreciate how necessary it is to honor the hard-fought education reforms.

The upside is that this new crop of lawmakers will have to learn the diff cult details of meeting the state’s obligations under Lake View.

Fortunately, there are good guides out there, starting with Gov. Mike Beebe, first a state senator and then attorney general during the long-running litigation. He should certainly be able to help make the case that Arkansas must preserve its education reforms.

The simplest fi x would apparently be enactment of a new state law to allow the state to redistribute excess revenue from districts that collect more from the 25-mill tax than they need to meet mandated funding levels for all districts.

But nothing about school reform is ever simple. So expect this subject, like many others, to be wooled around by lawmakers until they all get a grip on the continuing funding challenges for public education.

BRENDA BLAGG IS A FREELANCE COLUMNIST AND LONGTIME JOURNALIST IN NORTHWEST ARKANSAS.

Opinion, Pages 5 on 01/23/2013

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