Arkansas Increases Funding After Court Rules

On April 11, Governor Mike Huckabee signed into law a number of education bills passed during last week’s special session. The legislature approved a $132.5 million increase in school funding: per-pupil funding will rise from $5,486 this year to $5,620 for 2006-2007, while $50 million was added to the $120 million set aside last year for facilities over the two-year period. Furthermore, approved legislation earmarked $13 million for isolated schools and districts with declining enrollment and raised minimum teacher salaries by 1.6%.

This special session was called to address a December state supreme court ruling that declared the funding system to be unconstitutional because the legislature had frozen school funding, despite rising cost-of-living, and had not provided enough support for facilities improvement. According to the Associated Press, Gov. Huckabee concluded, "There's no reason this should not fully and completely satisfy everything that's been raised in the Lake View case and bring it to a final, final conclusion."

Not everyone is so satisfied, however. Dorothy Singleton, an organizer with Advocates for Community and Rural Education (ACRE), argues that the money will not necessarily go to the schools that need it most. Due to legislative details, she says, “Of the 49 school districts that sought the lifting of the funding freeze, 25 superintendents will leave satisfied, and 15 will be happier than before, but 9 are left out in the cold – our neediest schools won’t get the extra support.”

The supreme court gave the legislature a December 1, 2006 deadline for addressing school funding.

Prepared by Katherine Lu, April 13, 2006