Arkansas Supreme Court To Use Special Master in School Funding Case

On January 22, 2004, after hearing oral argument that morning, the Arkansas Supreme Court announced that it will appoint a special master in the Lake View School District v. Huckabee school funding case. This unanimous decision follows the court's November 2002 Lake View ruling, in which it declared the funding system unconstitutionally inadequate and inequitable and gave the governor and legislature over a year to develop a remedy, setting a January 1, 2004 deadline.

On January 2nd, plaintiffs filed a petition asking the court to force the state to comply with its earlier order, and the supreme court scheduled the January 22 oral argument.

After the 2002 supreme court ruling, the state followed the court's guidance, in part, by conducting a costing-out study that it released in September 2003. The study found that a large increase in funding from the state is needed. However, Governor Huckabee didn't call the special session of the legislature to deal with school funding until December 8, 2003, and as of January 26, 2004, the legislature had not yet developed a remedy.

Consolidation Struggles

The governor's primary proposal for dealing with the constitutional violation was a plan for consolidating small schools and districts. But, despite the governor traveling all over the state to garner support for his plan, advocates opposing consolidation have found broad agreement with their position among citizens and legislators. Analysis provided by the Rural School and Community Trust demonstrates the effectiveness of small schools, especially for low-income and minority students, such as those in many of Arkansas's small districts.

Prepared by Molly A. Hunter, January 26, 2004