Campaign For Fiscal Equity Wins Major Court Victory
---Motion to Expedite Appeal Granted in Appellate Court---
New York, NY April 6 -- Campaign for Fiscal Equity (CFE) has won a major victory in the legal, on-going battle for education fiscal reform. The Appellate division of the New York State Supreme Court ruled in favor of CFE in granting their motion for an expedited appeal of the decision in CFE v. State of New York. The five-judge panel included the presiding justice Hon. Joseph P. Sullivan, Hon. Milton L. Williams, Hon. Richard T. Andrias, Hon. Israel Rubin and Hon. David Freidman.The court order yesterday (April 5) allows the State to go forward with an appeal, but they must do so no later than October 2001. If they are unable to meet this expedited appeal schedule the court has indicated that, "an order dismissing the appeal and vacating the statutory stay may be entered ex parte".
Michael Rebell, Executive Director of CFE and chief architect of the legal strategy for the plaintiff said, "We are pleased that again a court has ruled on behalf of the well being of the children of the State of New York. The Attorney General had sought to delay the hearing of the case for a year or more. The court instead has directed that all briefs be in over the summer and that the case be argued in early October."
Rebell continued: "It is time for Governor Pataki to lift the stay on adequate education of the children of New York. It is time for Attorney General Spitzer to recognize that our kids need help, not prolonged legal maneuvering. It is time for education fiscal reform and a sound basic education to become a reality throughout New York State."
In January 2001, after a seven-year court process, NY State Supreme Court Justice Leland DeGrasse ruled in favor of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity in CFE v. State of New York, declaring the current fiscal formula for distributing education funds unconstitutional. He ruled that the state must provide the opportunity for every student to receive a sound basic education, set guidelines for action and gave the State nine months in which to fulfill the court's orders.
While Governor Pataki himself characterized the education fiscal formula as, "a dinosaur to be retired to the dustbin of history", he and State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer filed notice of their intent to appeal the decision in CFE v. State of New York and requested the maximum amount of time allowed under the law-- a year or more.
In filing a motion for an expeditious appeal, CFE asked that the appeal be heard by September 2001. The court has in effect allowed the state only one month more than this to complete the appeal process.