A group of Arizona school districts and several school groups say they plan to sue the Legislature over cuts to funding for buildings and maintenance.
The Arizona School Boards Association announced Friday that it will release details about the lawsuit on Monday. The suit is expected to seek hundreds of millions of dollars for schools that the Legislature has not funded since the Great Recession.
Attorneys have been working on the lawsuit for at least two years. Several school boards have voted to sign on as plaintiffs, as have the associations representing teachers, school administrators and business officials.
The lawsuit comes nearly a year after voters approved a plan to settle another multi-billion school funding lawsuit by tapping the state's land trust. Proposition 123 adds $3.5 billion in spending over 10 years.
The Arizona School Boards Association released the following statement:
"Instead of prioritizing public education for funding, the Legislature has cut $4.56 billion dollars to public schools since 2009. And those cuts have never been restored. State leaders have ignored this obligation far too long, they have lost this fight once, and it is time to step up and adequately fund public schools according to the law."
