A lawsuit that challenges the state’s funding formula for schools should concern every school district in Arkansas, Fort Smith Superintendent Benny Gooden said Tuesday.
On Monday, the Fort Smith School Board voted 7-0 give Gooden the authority to intervene in an ongoing school finance lawsuit brought against the state in 2010 by the Deer/Mount Judea School District.
Deer/Mount Judea sued the state in December 2010 and alleged that the funding system for education is unconstitutional, especially in the funding provided to isolated schools and for transportation, Clay Fendley, an attorney representing the Deer/Mount Judea district, said last week. The Deer/ Mount Judea district encompasses an area in Newton County that covers nearly 400 square miles.
A Pulaski County Circuit Court judge had dismissed the case, saying the issues raised were decided in a previous school finance case, Fendley said. Although the Arkansas Supreme Court agreed on some points with the lower court, the high court found some errors and in October sent the case back to the circuit court.
The case has not been scheduled for trial.
The resolution approved by the Fort Smith School Board directs Gooden to take any steps necessary in the litigation to protect the interests of the Fort Smith School District.
The resolution states that the Fort Smith School District is dependent on state aid provided through the existing funding formula for schools. The Deer/Mount Judea School District is challenging the structure of the funding formula. The School Board states in its resolution that the issues in the lawsuit are “substantial and could have a large impact on this district.”
School boards in Alma, Greenwood and Van Buren gave similar permission to their superintendents to intervene in the lawsuit, said Mitch Llewellyn, an attorney representing those districts, as well as Fort Smith.
Gooden said he anticipates the four districts will file a petition with the court to become another party in the case. By intervening, the districts would have access to all pleadings filed with the court.
Any changes in the way the state aid is distributed to school districts can affect their ability to operate, Gooden said. During a previous challenge of school finance, he said, the districts involved in the case were not concerned about serving large numbers of children whose home language was not English, but that issue was important for many districts in Northwest Arkansas.
When state lawmakers adjusted the funding formulas, they provided assistancefor districts with large numbers of children who needed extra help learning English, Gooden said.
A comprehensive school funding system should take into account the varied needs of districts across the state, he said.
“Deer/Mount Judea may have some very good arguments,” Gooden said. “One size does not fit all.”
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 7 on 01/29/2014