Campaign for Fiscal Equity v. State of New York, 2006 NY Slip Op. 02284 (N.Y. App. Div. March 23, 2006)
A New York appellate court has ruled that the state must provide between $4.7 billion and $5.63 billion in additional operating funds to New York City schools in order to satisfy the state’s “constitutional education funding obligations.” However, based on the doctrine of separation of powers the court refused “to adopt a dollar-specific budget” because that responsibility lies with the executive and legislative branches. While acknowledging that the state has “failed to appropriate an adequate amount of funding to meet its educational mandate as outlined” by the New York Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, in Campaign for Fiscal Equity v. State of New York, 100 NY2d 893 (2003) (CFE II), the appellate court concluded that the legislative and executive branches’ failure did not give the court the authority to participate in budget negotiations or, in the absence of a constitutional violation, to exercise veto power over the state’s calculations regarding the cost of a sound basic education. Based on the record, including a report by court-appointed referees, the court would go no further than to instruct the governor and state legislature to consider a proposed funding plan of at least $4.7 billion in additional annual operating funds and the referees’ recommended annual expenditure of $5.63 billion.
Campaign for Fiscal Equity v. State of New York, 2006 NY Slip Op. 02284 (N.Y. App. Div. March 23, 2006)
[Full opinion]
[Editor’s Note: A summary of the high court’s opinion in CFE II is provided below.]
[NSBA School Law pages on Campaign for Fiscal Equity v. State of New York]