State owes schools, suit says

Education advocates are expected to file suit today against the state of California for shortchanging school districts $1 billion – a move they say has left districts feeling used like "credit cards."

The California School Boards Association, joined by a handful of school districts, wants the state to reimburse K-12 districts for programs they say the state required and should have paid for.

"The state expects schools to foot the bill for millions of dollars in mandated costs that they do not fund and rarely pay back," Kathy Kinley, president of the California School Boards Association, said in a statement.

Richard L. Hamilton, director of the Educational Legal Alliance, said the state owes school districts $415 million for programs it underfunded and $475 million for programs it never funded. The current budget contains $160 million in unfunded programs, he said.

"These are claims filed by school districts over the years," Hamilton said.

Kinley argued that the state paid only a fraction of what it owed this year, appropriating just $38,000.

Finance Department spokesman H.D. Palmer said the Schwarzenegger administration has not seen the lawsuit, which is expected to be filed in Sacramento Superior Court.

"We will have further comment once we have reviewed the particulars of this lawsuit," Palmer said. "Regardless of the suit, K-12 has been and will be receiving the lion's share of budget dollars even in a challenging fiscal environment."

Under a change in the state constitution instituted in the wake of property-tax-cutting Proposition 13, the state is required to reimburse local agencies when it mandates new programs or a higher level of service.

In the past, state finance officials have said school districts became increasingly demanding in requesting payment over the years.

Education advocates say Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Legislature have avoided paying for a wide range of additional responsibilities given to schools.

The anticipated lawsuit is expected to seek reimbursement of "new programs and higher levels of service" the state demanded of school districts. School districts involved in the suit argue they never got paid.

Besides the school boards association, plaintiffs include the San Diego County Office of Education, Riverside Unified School District, San Jose Unified School District and Clovis Unified School District.

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• Call Judy Lin, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 321-1115.