More than 10 years after the Campaign for Fiscal Equity (CFE) filed a lawsuit to increase education aid given by the state to New York City, the state Court of Appeals has ordered a minimum increase of $1.93 billion a year.
On Monday, November 20, the court ruled on the amount in a 4-2 decision. New York Governor George Pataki said that the court's decision proves that the state has made “a strong commitment to education.”
“After more than 13 years of litigation, this decision provides a clear roadmap to an appropriate conclusion to the CFE case and is a resounding affirmation of my strong belief that the decisions regarding the state's finances and education policy should continue to be made by the people's elected representatives and not the courts,” Pataki said.
The case began in 1993 and had supporters hoping to get between $4 and $6 billion more. Randi Weingarten, the president of the United Federation of Teachers, said that she was disappointed with the large reduction. However, she hopes to get more from the state in the end.
“We are confident Governor-elect Eliot Spitzer will stand by his commitment to navigate a settlement with the legislature to provide somewhere between the $4 billion and $6 billion for our students - and we expect legislative leaders to act quickly to carry this out,” Weingarten said.
Spitzer said that he is looking forward to working with the legislature and others involved getting the funding to the schools.
Spitzer said, “As I have repeatedly stated, however, we must provide more statewide funding than this constitutional minimum, so that all of New York's school children have the opportunity to thrive in the 21st century workplace,” Spitzer said.
“The executive budget that I submit February will propose significant additional funding on a statewide basis as part of a multi-year plan.”
School funding suit settled
By Jessica Lyons
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