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November 25, 2005
Representative
Vicki Truitt releases statement on court school finance
ruling.
The following statement was released from Representative
Truitt's office
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At last, the long-awaited Supreme Court opinion has been delivered. It confirmed what we suspected, and that is that over time the current method of public school finance has evolved to the point that it has become unconstitutional because we have what has been interpreted to be a statewide property tax.
In the matter of devising an appropriate method of public school finance, the Court decisively noted that it is appropriate to “leave such matters to the discretion of the Legislature,” and I could not agree more. The Legislature is charged to fix this by June 1, 2006. And we shall.
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The Court threw out challenges to the adequacy, efficiency and suitability of the state education system, even praising recent school reforms and academic progress.
And while the Court ruled that there is no current constitutional violation related to the “adequacy” of education, there is an “impending” problem in that “the public education system has reached the point where continued improvement will not be possible absent significant change, whether that change take the form of increased funding, improved efficiencies, or better methods of education,” and that that we will drift toward inadequacy unless the Legislature acts to avoid such.
Therefore, we must solve the problems with school finance so our teachers will be in a better position to educate our children, and our taxpayers will get needed relief.
Now, with this court case behind us, when the Governor calls us back to finally deal with the matter, I am hopeful that all parties will be at the negotiating table in good faith. High quality education is vital to the future of the state.
I have been and remain eager to be among the members of the Legislature working to replace the current system and striving for an efficient, fairer, more equitable funding system that will promote excellence in the classroom and appropriate teacher benefits.
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