Ark. Court Orders More School Funding

[Judi Lynn]

Ark. Court Orders More School Funding
By ANDREW DeMILLO
Associated Press Writer

December 15, 2005, 1:16 PM EST

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- The Arkansas Supreme Court ordered the state Thursday to fix deficiencies in school funding by late 2006, ruling that reforms made after the court stepped in three years ago are not enough.

In a 4-2 ruling, the justices did not order specific funding levels but said legislators were wrong to freeze school spending at $5,400 per student this year, and "grossly underfunded" improvements to school buildings and equipment.
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The court had ruled in 2002 that the school districts were underfunded and that the money spent was distributed unevenly. Legislators approved a number of reforms in 2003 and 2004 that the justices initially had said appeared fine.
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http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-arkansas-schools,0,7509570.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines