Teachers Union Sues Over $3.1 Billion for Schools

The California Teachers Assn. on Tuesday sued Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in an attempt to force the state to increase spending on schools by $3.1 billion.

The suit, which the teachers union filed together with State Supt. of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell in Sacramento County Superior Court, charges that the budget the governor signed last month deprives schools of funds guaranteed by the state constitution.

Officials at the association say the governor promised schools the money and signed legislation in 2004 guaranteeing them the funds, but reneged on his commitment this year.

“The governor hasn’t just broken a promise, he’s broken the law,” David A. Sanchez, vice president of the association, said at a press conference at a Sacramento elementary school Tuesday. “We filed a complaint today out of deep concern over the future of education in this state.”

O’Connell says the $3.1 billion is enough money to keep open 100 schools that are scheduled to close for lack of funds, hold off class-size increases in lower grades, double the number of new textbooks available to students and significantly expand school transportation services.

At issue is a provision in the 2004-2005 budget that specifically stated schools would accept a $2-billion reduction in what they were owed under funding formulas approved by voters through Proposition 98. That initiative, passed in 1988, guaranteed a significant share of all state revenue for education.

Soon after the agreement on the $2 billion was struck, state revenues shot up, increasing what schools would receive under Proposition 98. The budget the governor signed denied schools that additional revenue.

Last year’s budget agreement also suspended Proposition 98, letting the state off the hook for the additional money despite promises made elsewhere in the budget, said Robert Manwaring, K-12 education director with the nonpartisan legislative analyst’s office.

“There is no such thing as a ‘conditional’ suspension,” Manwaring said. “Either you suspend Prop. 98 or you don’t.”

The legislative analyst’s office issued a report last November saying the schools were not owed the money.

Administration officials Tuesday were dismissive of the suit.

“We don’t believe it will stand up in court,” said Department of Finance spokesman H.D. Palmer. He said the school groups are trying to undo a provision of the budget agreement that was approved by the Legislature and the governor and endorsed by the legislative analyst’s office, which both parties look to for budget advice.

Fred Silva, a budget analyst at the Public Policy Institute of California, noted that in the early 1990s the courts ruled against the state when it wanted to pay schools less than Prop. 98 required. “The state lost and the court said the guarantee is what it says it is,” Silva said.

If the plaintiffs prevail, it could wreak havoc on the precariously balanced state budget. Boosting schools money by $3.1 billion could force the state to cut back other programs, such as road projects and healthcare for the poor; borrow money; or consider raising taxes.