Later today, some of California’s marquee education groups will announce what they are calling an “historic education lawsuit” against the state during separate news conferences in San Francisco and Sacramento.
Groups like the California School Boards Association, the Association of California School Administrators, and the California State Parent Teacher Association have been rumbling for months about going to court over the state of school finances in the nation’s largest state. As most of you know, public schools in California have been pummeled by deep cuts that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and lawmakers have made to close recurring, jaw-dropping budget gaps.
The plaintiffs say that the state needs to dump its current finance system and design a new one from scratch.
This announcement comes just as the new round of budget battles will be waged in Sacramento. Last week, Gov. Schwarzenegger unveiled his revised budget proposal for fiscal 2011 and the state’s nonpartisan legislative analyst offered up a heavy dose of criticism for the governor’s plans to gut state welfare and health services for the poor in order to restore earlier cuts to schools, especially colleges and universities.
We will dial into the Sacramento event and bring you the details as we get them. Also, more information will be available at www.fixschoolfinance.org after the lawsuit is announced.
UPDATE: Here is my story on the lawsuit, along with accounts from the Los Angeles Times and the San Jose Mercury News.
