Fate of Ailing School System in Arkansas Justices’ Hands

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. —  The state Supreme Court claimed control Thursday over the future of Arkansas’ school system, saying the Legislature had missed its deadline to come up with a plan to resolve a decades-long fight over school quality.

The justices said they will appoint a special master to recommend ways to bring education up to constitutional standards. The Legislature can continue its attempts to address the issue, but the court will decide whether they are adequate.

However, the court did not order the state to fund schools with money earmarked for other services and departments -- a move requested by the school district that started the case. Arkansas officials had developed what Gov. Mike Huckabee called a “doomsday” plan to keep essential services running in case the justices made such a ruling.

The court order came after a hearing Thursday at which a lawyer for the state acknowledged that legislators missed a Jan. 1 deadline for coming up with ways to improve schools. The state pleaded for more time, but justices expressed impatience. “I don’t want to run your schools, but I’m ready to do something. I’m ready to act,” Justice Donald L. Corbin told Assistant Atty. Gen. Tim Gauger.

The court did not say when it would appoint a special master, or how long the master would have to analyze the school system.

In November 2002, the high court said that Arkansas didn’t spend enough money on education and that it distributed funds unevenly. It ordered changes in the $1.8-billion system and gave the state until Jan. 1, 2004, to put them in place.

Legislators failed to reach a deal last year, divided largely by Huckabee’s plan to merge the smallest 100 or so districts to make schools more efficient.

Legislators had met in special session since Dec. 8, but the new year arrived with no significant changes in the way Arkansas educates about 450,000 students in 308 districts.

At the state Capitol on Thursday, the House refused to approve a $10-million study on the state’s deteriorating school buildings. Capital improvements also are part of the Supreme Court’s 2002 mandate.

The court case stems from a lawsuit filed in 1992 by the Lake View School District, but the state’s education system also was declared unconstitutional in 1983.

Lake View lawyer Bill Lewellen had called on the court to order up to $1 billion more in new school spending, at the expense of other state departments. But the justices questioned whether that would solve problems such as unequal distribution of school resources.