The state Supreme Court today left sanctions in place in the McCleary school funding lawsuit. That was probably the base case scenario following the September 7 hearing we wrote about here and here. In today’s opinion, the court:
Most of the 14-page opinion rehearsed the case history, with the court continuing to express disappointment with a lack of a plan. The justices believe the sanctions have had a positive “coercive force” on lawmakers. And, they affirm that the full funding of basic education must be implemented no later than September 1, 2018 and the plan for implementation must be in place by the end of the 2017 legislative session.
On balance, it appears things remain as they were before the September hearing, with the need for action emphasized in today’s order.
