New York, NY March 8, 2001--- In reaction to a filing on February 28 by New York State of a Notice of Appeal, CFE filed motion papers today that asks the Court to block the State's use of the appeal process to stall the long overdue overhaul of the public education finance system. The State is currently under Court order to come up with a reformed and equitable school funding system by September 15.

"We are asking the Court to give priority to the urgent educational needs of two million schoolchildren for whom the current school aid system is a disaster," says Michael Rebell, Executive Director of CFE. "Nine more months of waiting is another whole school year lost."

The State is appealing Justice Leland DeGrasse's January 10 decision that the state's public education funding system violates the state constitution and Title VI of the 1964 Federal Civil Rights Act. By appealing, the State is taking advantage of state procedural law (CPLR 5519) that, in this case, provides for an automatic stay of Justice DeGrasse's order. The stay arguably excuses the State from honoring the rigorous but doable timetable that Justice DeGrasse imposed on the State to devise a public finance system that passed constitutional muster. The timetable reflected the gravity of the constitutional crisis at hand. The Court would not tolerate perpetuating a public education finance system that had already denied a generation of children their constitutional right to a sound basic education.

CFE Counters New York State's Notice of Appeal

To prevent further damage to two million school children who will be further harmed if the State succeeds in using the appeal to delay going forward with reforming the school finance system, CFE filed two motions. One motion seeks expedited appellate review of the case and the other asks the Court to order the State to comply with the lower court's order to prepare the reforms needed to redress the constitutional violations found by the trial court while the appeal is pending. (See Background on arguments page 3).

Governor "Stops The Clock," Acts To Preserve Old School Aid Formula

"By filing the notice of appeal, the State stops the clock on enforcement of complying with the lower court's ruling. The State is using the appeal to slow the pace of reform to a grinding halt," says Mr. Rebell. "It is mind boggling that only a month after the Governor called for leaving 'the old convoluted school aid formula on the ash heap of history,' he and Attorney General Spitzer are putting a road block up that will actually preserve the school aid formula for the time being."

"The state's school children need the Governor to lead a revolution in public school financing; instead he's leading a convolution," continued Rebell. "He's complicating the reform process and cutting out on his responsibility to New York's children. The appeal is just an excuse not to move forward with the reform process."

"I'm disappointed that Attorney General Spitzer has not made good so far on his publicly stated commitment to move the appeal expeditiously," said Joseph Wayland of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, CFE's pro bono counsel in the case.

As reported in The New York Times today, March 8, Michael Rebell and CFE have made extensive efforts asking the Governor's office and members of the state legislature to create an independent apolitical panel of experts to move forward rapidly and efficiently to bring education finance reform in line with DeGrasse's court order.