PHOENIX - Calling it an illegal intrusion on their authority, Republican legislative leaders are moving to block - or at least delay - a court order requiring them to fix the system of funding public schools that a judge declared unconstitutionally leaves some students in buildings needing major repairs and without the equipment necessary to learn.
Attorneys for Senate President Warren Petersen and House Speaker Steve Montenegro are telling the state Court of Appeals that the directive by Maricopa County Superior Court Dewain Fox is flawed.
They argue the judge exceeded his authority because it is solely up to the Legislature to determine education policy. And what that means, they are telling the state Court of Appeals, is it is lawmakers - and not the courts - who set the standards that students must meet and then decide what minimum facilities are needed and, by extension, how much to spend.
