California voters said no, but Democratic lawmakers are pushing to do it anyhow.

The issue involves billions of dollars and a ballot measure so important to schools that the California Teachers Association spent more than $7 million in a failed attempt to pass Proposition 1B.

One month after the initiative died, Democrats are proposing to pay schools the same $7.9 billion that was the heart of the measure and to begin payments the same year, 2011-2012.

The funding commitment is part of a massive budget-balancing plan crafted by a joint legislative conference committee and scheduled to be voted upon this week by the Senate and Assembly.

Sen. Mimi Walters, R-Laguna Niguel, said the proposal to commit $7.9 billion to schools directly contradicts the people's will.

"The voters have spoken and we need to listen," Walters said. "Unfortunately, the majority party in Sacramento isn't listening."

Democrats counter that a lawsuit already has been filed by the California Federation of Teachers over the disputed $7.9 billion and, if the state loses, it could be forced to begin payments much sooner than the proposed 2011-2012.

"The state is still at risk for owing the entire (amount) immediately," said Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento. "So what the conference committee action allows is for an easy payment plan."

Democrats also argue that 1B was rejected for reasons other than school funding – voters were angry that the Legislature hadn't solved the state's budget crisis, and they didn't like that 1B would take effect only if Proposition 1A were passed to extend some newly imposed taxes for up to two years.

"I refuse to believe that that election was anti-education," said Sen. Alan Lowenthal, D-Long Beach. "That was anti-Legislature, anti-taxes, that's what it was."

The dispute over $7.9 billion stems from complex provisions of Proposition 98, approved by voters more than two decades ago to ensure a minimal level of funding for public schools and community colleges, generally about 40 percent of the state's general fund revenues.

Proposition 98 allows for the state to reduce its funding commitment under certain circumstances, such as a rocky economy, but it generally requires that any such funding gap be closed gradually as times get better.

Argument has arisen, however, over whether and to what extent the state is legally obligated to repay schools for lowering funding in years such as the one just ending, 2008-09, which has been marked by economic free fall.

Proposition 1B proposed paying schools the disputed $7.9 billion, but it would not have resolved the legal question about whether Proposition 98 requires such repayment.

Democrats now are proposing to do both: Pay the $7.9 billion – which has grown to about $9.8 billion – and clarify that schools are owed repayment under such circumstances. Legislation is being crafted for release next week.

The state owed schools an additional $1.4 billion in funding-gap obligations from a prior fiscal year, so the total tab under the Democrats' proposal would be about $11.2 billion, according to the Legislative Analyst's Office.

Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has taken no position.

Kevin Gordon, a veteran education lobbyist, said the money is particularly vital to schools because it would become part of their "base" funding from which Proposition 98 obligations are calculated.

Education officials said the repayment commitment is no cure-all, however, for classrooms hammered by budget cuts.

"It's certainly a decent consolation prize," Gordon said.

"We would have a chance in the future to grow back to where we were," said Bob Wells, director of the Association of California School Administrators.

David Sanchez, CTA president, said the group has pushed for repayment but was surprised when Democrats on the committee proposed it.

"Absolutely it's important to us," he said of the funds. "It's money owed under Proposition 98 to the students."

Because public schools and community colleges consume about 40 cents of every dollar in California's general fund, it has been impossible for the state to bridge massive budget gaps in recent years without slicing into education funding.

During the past year alone, for example, Proposition 98 funding for K-14 education has slipped by more than $7 billion – from $56.5 billion in 2007-2008 to about $49.1 billion this year, records show.

Lowenthal said education is a top priority and it's only fair to repay campuses later for financial harm caused now.

But Assemblyman Jim Nielsen, R-Gerber, said the proposal was developed without GOP input and that it is irresponsible to commit billions of dollars in times of economic uncertainty.

"It's an obligation that voters did not want us to assume," he said.

Call Jim Sanders, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 326-5538.