Iseeo v. State
| Decision Date | 21 December 2005 |
| Docket Number | No. 29616.,29616. |
| Citation | 142 Idaho 450,129 P.3d 1199 |
| Court | Idaho Supreme Court |
| Parties | IDAHO SCHOOLS FOR EQUAL EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY; Moscow School District # 281; Lapwai School District 341; Mullan School District # 392; Potlatch School District # 285; Kendrick Joint School District # 283; Cascade School District # 422; St. Maries Joint School District # 41; Orofino Joint School District # 171; Culdesac Joint School District # 342; Genesee Joint School District # 282; Highland-Craigmont Joint School District # 305; Rockland School District # 382; Horseshoe Bend School District # 73; Richfield School District # 316; Boundary County District # 101; Kamiah Joint District # 204; Nez Perce District # 302; Cottonwood District # 242; Midvale School District # 433; Post Falls School District # 272; And Bonner County School District # 82, Plaintiffs-Counter-defendants-Respondents, and Brian Silflow and Ganel Silflow, by and through their parents, Dale and Patti Silflow, husband and wife; Donald Paul Crea by and through his father, Gary Crea; Andy Cook, by and through his father, Larry Prally; Tavia Gilbert, by and through her parents; Terry and Carolyn Gilbert; Gregory Lamm, by and through his mother, Kathy Lamm; Sara Kae Gomez, by and through her parents, Kathleen and Jose Gomez; Dietrich Stella and Jennifer Stella, by and through their parents, Charles and Rebecca Stella; Gregory Daniels, by and through his mother, Nancy Daniels; Gina M. Decker, by and through her parents, Gene and Linda Decker; Jennifer A. Alder, by and through her parents, Max and Judy Alder; Angela F. Gerrard, by and through her parents, Roger and Rhoda Gerrard; Catherine A. Sporleder, by and through her mother; Joanne Sporleder; Morgan Rounds and Seth Rounds, by and through their parents, Ivan Rounds and Brenda Rounds; Kelli Longeteig, by and through her parents, Willfred Longeteig and Beverly Longeteig; Don Hoffer; Sarah Malloy, by and through her mother, Susie Malloy; Kory Turnbow, by and through his mother, Donagene Turnbow; Shawna Olsen, Shannon Olsen and Ryan Olsen, by and through their mother, Teresa Olsen; Krista Anne Goetz, by and through her father, Allan J. Goetz; Chad Knee, by and through his parents, kelly and karen knee; on behalf of themselves and all other school people of the State of Idaho similarly situated, Plaintiffs-Respondents, v. The STATE of Idaho, Defendant-Counterclaimant-Appellant. |
Hon. Lawrence G. Wasden, Attorney General, Boise, for appellant. James D. Carlson argued.
Huntley Park, LLP, Boise, for respondents. Robert C. Huntley Jr. argued.
This is an appeal of a district court decision granting declaratory judgment against the State of Idaho in an action challenging the adequacy and method of funding public education in Idaho. After conducting a trial in 2000, the district court issued Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law in early 2001 in which it determined the State has failed in its constitutional duty to provide a thorough education for Idaho's public school students in a safe environment conducive to learning, especially as it pertains to the poorest of school districts. The State appeals the judgment, as well as further district court orders addressing remedial measures.
This is the fifth time this case has been brought on appeal to this Court since the filing of the initial complaint in June 1990. The Respondents are the Idaho Schools for Equal Educational Opportunity, an unincorporated association of school district superintendents of several Idaho public school districts, various school districts and several parents of school children attending public schools in Idaho (collectively referred to as ISEEO), and the Appellant is the State of Idaho (State). In the district court, ISEEO sought a declaratory judgment that "the present level and method of funding for Idaho's public schools [is] unconstitutional." The suit is based upon Article IX, § 1 of the Idaho Constitution, which reads as follows:
The stability of a republican form of government depending mainly upon the intelligence of the people, it shall be the duty of the Legislature of Idaho, to establish and maintain a general, uniform and thorough system of public, free common schools.
In the first appeal, this Court determined ISEEO had standing to sue and clarified that it is the judicial branch's constitutional duty to define the meaning of the Idaho Constitution and what constitutes a "thorough system of public, free schools." See Idaho Schs. For Equal Educ. Opportunity v. Evans, 123 Idaho 573, 583, 850 P.2d 724, 734 (1993) (ISEEO I). After ISEEO I, the Legislature made several changes to Idaho's public school system, such as increasing public school appropriations and directing the State Board of Education (SBE) to develop new rules. In the second appeal, this Court determined the legislative changes did not make the lawsuit moot. See Idaho Schs. For Equal Educ. Opportunity ex. rel. Eikum v. State Bd. of Educ. ex. rel. Mossman, 128 Idaho 276, 912 P.2d 644 (1996) (ISEEO II). The case was remanded for the district court to address the issue of whether the funding system met the Legislature's obligation under the Idaho Constitution to provide a "thorough system" of public education. Id. The case came back to this Court and in ISEEO III, this Court concluded the new rules drafted by SBE relating specifically to facilities met the constitutional requirement of thoroughness. See Idaho Schs. For Equal Educ. Opportunity v. State, 132 Idaho 559, 976 P.2d 913 (1998) (ISEEO III). We noted, "a safe environment conducive to learning is inherently part of a thorough system of public, free common schools. . . ." ISEEO III, 132 Idaho at 566, 976 P.2d at 920. On remand, the district court was directed to determine the narrow issue of whether the Legislature had provided a means to fund facilities that provide a safe environment conducive to learning, pursuant to the thoroughness requirement of Article IX, § 1.
The district court held a court trial in 2000, and in 2001 entered its Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law (2001 Findings). The district court concluded the system of school funding established by the Legislature was insufficient to meet the constitutional requirement because reliance on loans alone to pay for major repairs or the replacement of unsafe school buildings was inadequate for the poorer school districts. The district court deferred any remedial action to allow the Legislature time to address the court's findings. However, in late 2002 when the Legislature, in the district court's opinion, had failed to take appropriate action, the district court began implementing its remedial measures, including a phase of information gathering and the appointment of a Special Master.
In 2003, the Legislature passed HB 403, which imposed various restrictions on law-suits related to school funding. In ISEEO IV, this Court affirmed the district court's determination that HB 403 was unconstitutional. See Idaho Schs. For Equal Educ. Opportunity v. State, 140 Idaho 586, 97 P.3d 453 (2004) (ISEEO IV). All other issues having been resolved, this appeal finally addresses the district court's 2001 Findings and the court's final determination that the current state "system based upon loans alone is not adequate to meet the constitutional mandate to establish and maintain a general, uniform, and thorough system of public, free common schools in a `safe environment conducive to learning' for Idaho's poorest school districts." We agree with this conclusion.
We note at the outset that in complex litigation such as this, it is to be expected myriad issues will be raised on appeal. Several of the issues raised will not be analyzed here, however, as they concern the remedial phase of the litigation and are raised in another appeal pending before this Court. Thus, the State's arguments relating to the appointment of a Special Master, the payment of the Special Master, and whether the Special Master may appoint as assistants individuals who had previously been involved as witnesses for ISEEO will not be considered until those issues are properly before this Court in the suspended appeal of Fourth District Court v. Bail.
The first question we will consider is broadly stated as whether ISEEO may litigate and obtain a judgment on behalf of school districts that are not a party to this lawsuit. This Court has repeatedly held ISEEO has standing to seek a declaration that the Legislature has failed to carry out its constitutional responsibility to provide a thorough system of public education. See ISEEO I; ISEEO IV. Organizational standing clearly confers on ISEEO the ability to represent its members, but because the declaration ISEEO seeks applies to all school districts throughout the state, ISEEO cannot be limited to presenting evidence concerning only the named districts. The underlying issue in this case is whether the Legislature has provided the proper level and method of funding school facilities to create a safe environment conducive to learning, not whether particular districts need additional funds for facility improvements. Accordingly, ISEEO must be allowed to present statewide evidence of facility problems, including safety concerns of districts which have settled or were never parties to this lawsuit. Similarly, it is appropriate for the district court's judgment to be entered on behalf of those ISEEO members who presented no evidence at trial. ISEEO is not constrained to provide evidence relating only to party districts, nor must ISEEO provide evidence concerning every party district. Again, the focus of this litigation is on the adequacy of the Legislature's mechanism for funding public school districts; a judgment that such a funding mechanism is...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Tucker v. State
...applied a likelihood of future harm standard. For example, this Court's decision in Idaho Schools for Equal Educational Opportunity v. State ("ISEEO V "), 142 Idaho 450, 453, 129 P.3d 1199, 1202 (2005), is particularly instructive because it illustrates how we have viewed systemic harm in a......
-
Abbeville Cnty. Sch. Dist. v. State
...extent Brown is in fact irrelevant here, we likewise find irrelevant and improper.24 See, e.g., Idaho Schs. for Equal Educ. Opportunity v. State, 142 Idaho 450, 129 P.3d 1199, 1209 (2005) (“We affirm the district court's conclusion that the current method of funding as it relates to school ......
-
King v. State
...285 S.E.2d 156, 168 (1981) (rejecting challenge to Georgia's system of financing public education); Idaho Sch. for Equal Educ. Opportunity v. State, 142 Idaho 450, 129 P.3d 1199, 1209 (2005) (affirming trial court's conclusion that Idaho's current method of funding as it related to school f......
-
Tucker v. State
...efforts to bring the public defense system into constitutional compliance. In Idaho Schools for Equal Education Opportunity v. State (ISEEO V) , 142 Idaho 450, 459, 129 P.3d 1199, 1208 (2005), we affirmed the declaratory judgment that Idaho's public school funding system was "simply not suf......
-
HOW DO JUDGES DECIDE SCHOOL FINANCE CASES?
...Trial court ID 1997 [Unreported] Trial court ID 2003 [Unreported] Trial court ID 2004 97 P.3d 453 Court of last resort ID 2005 129 P.3d 1199 Court of last resort ID 2001 [Unreported] Trial court ID 1993 850 P.2d 724 Court of last resort ID 1996 912 P.2d 644 Court of last resort ID 1998 976 ......
-
The Judiciary's Role in Colorado's School Finance System
...Elementary School Dist. No. 66 v. Bishop, 877 P.2d 806, 814-16 (Ariz. 1994); Idaho Schools for Equal Educ. Opportunity v. State, 129 P.3d 1199, 1208-09 (Idaho 2005); Montoy v. State, 112 P.3d 923, 941 (Kan. 2005); Rose v. Council for Better Educ., 790 S.W.2d 186, 211-13 (Ky. 1989); Abbott b......