Alaska News

Ketchikan judge denies stay in education lawsuit

A Ketchikan Superior Court Judge has ruled that it is unconstitutional for the state to require municipalities to help pay for public education, invalidating Alaska's long-held school funding formula.

On Friday, Judge William Carey denied the State of Alaska's request for a stay of his November ruling, which would have postponed the enforcement of his decision until the state went through the appeals process.

Assistant Attorney General Cori Mills said in a statement Friday that in light of the denial, the state would move to seek a stay from the Alaska Supreme Court.

"We believe that a stay is warranted in this case where the legislature and the Governor are faced with having to reevaluate the school funding formula before we have a final decision from the Alaska Supreme Court," the statement said.

The Ketchikan Gateway Borough and four residents sued the state last January over the mandatory school contribution. It argued that the state unconstitutionally penalized organized boroughs and first-class cities by mandating they contribute a set limit of property taxes to local school districts.

In 2013, this amounted to roughly $4 million for the Ketchikan Gateway Borough.

In November, Carey ruled in favor of the borough. He said the mandatory local contribution violated the state's Constitution, which bans it from implementing dedicated taxes, The Associated Press reported.

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The state filed an appeal with the Alaska Supreme Court and asked for a stay from the Superior Court pending the appeal, Mills wrote in an email.

The state argued that the enforcement of Carey's decision would do irreparable harm. It would prevent the state from fulfilling its constitutional duty to establish and maintain a school system. It would create uncertainty within school districts and possibly funding gaps. It would not give the state Legislature or governor enough time to comply, according to Carey's denial filed Friday.

But the borough and residents argued that the legislature could adjust its educational funding scheme. They denied that local school districts were counting on the local funding following the court's ruling and said that they should not fall victim to unconstitutional funding while the appeal process moved forward, Carey wrote.

Carey ultimately wrote that the state had shown it would suffer from the absence of a stay, but it did not prove that the borough and residents would be protected if a stay were granted. The residents would continue paying money without promise of having it reimbursed. Carey also wrote that the state did not prove it had a probable chance of winning the appeal.

In his denial, Carey wrote that it was unclear what the effects of the court's November decision would be on the local community and the state.

For the 2013-14 academic year, the state Department of Education and Early Development distributed $1.4 billion to school districts. Of that total, $222 million came from the local contributions which the court has since deemed unconstitutional.

The appeals process is ongoing.

Tegan Hanlon

Tegan Hanlon was a reporter for the Anchorage Daily News between 2013 and 2019. She now reports for Alaska Public Media.

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