Educational Adequacy Report of 2006 (Act 57 of 2nd Extraordinary Session of 2003)

Here's your 161-page draft report (click here) that is to be our roadmap to get us out of the Lake View litigation (e-mailed to members yesterday). Recommended legislation is at the end, and it's blank.

We have two objectives here. The smaller objective, and just as important to me at this stage, is to satisfy the Court that the legislature has achieved and satisfied its constitutional requirement to provide an adequate public educational system pursuant to Article 14, Section 1 (and please read section 4) of the Arkansas Constitution. The legislature can no longer sulk that the Supreme Court has accepted jurisdiction over the matter. They have oversight, and our job now is to satisfy our obligations.

Briefly, the funding matrix provided by Picus includes a change in calculation. Whether that change is acceptable to school districts in all corners of the state will be the $64 million question. Foundation and categorical funding increases will also certainly be addressed, and it's my position is that a review of the expansion of NSLA categories would be beneficial. I'm leaning on those closer to the facilities issue to educate me, but I am in favor of using a portion of the current revenue surplus to satisfy some one-time expenses there (Gov. Beebe's seeking up to $400MM).

As a lawyer, my concern, and my thoughts as to the thinking of the Supreme Court, is that the legislature has never provided a benchmark definition for "adequacy." We have yet to give them a target to judge as to whether we have satisfied our constitutional obligation. I do not think that the Court would ever tinker with our definition so long as one is provided -- at that point, I think there would be a true problem with the separation of powers and a problem with Article 14, Section 4. Upon the implementation of a definition, they have a standard by which to determine whether or not we have provided an adequate educational system.

More on this throughout the session.