Courts as Catalysts

Matthew H. Bosworth

Description

Despite education being one of the most important, if not the most important, political issues for the American public, access to funding for education is not equal across school districts. Local public schools are generally funded by a combination of state aid and local property taxes, a combination which favors wealthier suburbs and disadvantages relatively poor urban and rural areas. Nationwide, low-income districts have gone to court attempting to remedy these inequities. But has litigation been worth the price from the activists' perspective? Can poor districts (and poor parents and children) look to courts for help? Conversely, should rich districts fear court-ordered redistribution of wealth from their schools? This book examines the effectiveness of state supreme courts in Texas, Kentucky, and North Dakota in achieving funding equity between rich and poor public school districts. It includes more than ninety interviews with policymakers and observers and concludes that, although there are many factors that can help or hinder equity reform, courts can make a difference.
Acknowledgments

Chapter 1. Courts and Social Reform

Chapter 2. Funding American Public Schools

Chapter 3. Texas: “We Want to Surrender, We Just Don't Know Where To Turn Ourselves In”

Chapter 4. Kentucky: “The Courts Made Us Do It”

Chapter 5. North Dakota: “We'll Give You One More Chance”

Chapter 6. State Supreme Courts and the Different Paths to Public School Finance Equity Reform

Cases Cited

Appendix One. Texas Questionnaires
Appendix Two. Kentucky Questionnaires
Appendix Three. North Dakota Questionnaires

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Sujets

• Droit général
• Droit général
• Droit général
• Education policy
• Central
• National
• Droits de l'homme
• Droit de l'homme
• Droit de l'Homme

Informations

• Publié par: State University of New York Press
• Date de parution: 24 mai 2001
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780791490433
• Langue: English

Extrait

C O U R T S A S C A T A L Y S T S

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C O U R T S A S C A T A L Y S T S

State Supreme Courts and Public School Finance Equity

Matthew H. Bosworth

S TATE U NIVERSITY OF N EW Y ORK P RESS

Published by State University of New York Press, Albany

© 2001 State University of New York

All rights reserved

Printed in the United States of America

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.

For information, address State University of New York Press, 90 State Street, Suite 700, Albany, NY 12207

Production by Diane Ganeles Marketing by Anne Valentine

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Bosworth, Matthew H. Courts as catalysts : state supreme courts and public school finance equity / Matthew H. Bosworth. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-7914-5013-9 (HC : alk. paper)—ISBN 0-7914-5014-7 (PB : alk. paper) 1. Political questions and judicial power—United States—States. 2. Courts of last resort—United States.—States. 3. Law reform—United States—States. 4. Education—Finance—Law and legislation—United States—States. 5. Education—United States—Finance. I. Title.

KF8775 .B67 2001 344.73'076—dc21

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

00-061921

Acknowledgments

Contents

Chapter 1. Courts and Social Reform

Chapter 2. Funding American Public Schools

Chapter 3. Texas: “We Want to Surrender, We Just Don’t Know Where To Turn Ourselves In”

Chapter 4. Kentucky: “The Courts Made Us Do It”

Chapter 5. North Dakota: “We’ll Give You One More Chance”

Chapter 6. State Supreme Courts and the Different Paths to Public School Finance Equity Reform

Cases Cited

Appendix One. Texas Questions

Appendix Two. Kentucky Questions

Appendix Three. North Dakota Questions

Notes

Bibliography

Index

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Acknowledgments

It is a truism to say that a project of this scope is necessarily a group product, but the statement is even more accurate in this case. At the heart of this work are the results of interviews with ninety- four necessarily anonymous policymakers and observers who gave quite generously of their time to a researcher who could offer them nothing but an attentive ear. Future academics could count them- selves quite fortunate to study a group as genial and unselfish as these interviewees regardless of their positions in the school finance debates. Also worthy of mention are certain individuals who made the stays of a traveling researcher much more pleasant than they could have been. Brian and Sonela Schlottmann, then of Austin, went far beyond the call of friendship in offering a place to live and work for three crucial weeks. Don Brown and Glenda Barron of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (neither interviewees) pro- vided both important background information and generous hospi- tality, as did one other individual who was useful enough that he unfortunately must remain anonymous. Professors Bradley Canon and Penny Miller of the University of Kentucky also were very giv- ing of their time and assistance. Two individuals in particular were very friendly and helpful getting research started in North Dakota, but again must remain anonymous. From a broader perspective, though, I must thank in particu- lar my faculty advisor throughout my time in Madison, Professor Joel Grossman, whose encouragement, sharp eye, and wise advice improved this project immensely. I also must thank Professor Herbert Kritzer, who helped me focus on the big forest of this project when the trees were getting thick. Professors Dennis Dresang, Charles Jones, and Allan Odden of the University of Wisconsin-Madison also

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Acknowledgments

provided helpful suggestions from their own unique perspectives. Michael Gauger lent invaluable editing assistance, without which this book would not be publishable. Finally, I must thank my under- graduate senior thesis advisor at Johns Hopkins University, Pro- fessor J. Woodford Howard Jr., who not only suggested that I look into what these state supreme courts were doing on the school finance issue, but pushed me to take the necessary first steps in the execution of this larger project. Of course, I would not have been able to start, much less fin- ish, this work without the support and advice of numerous friends both here in Madison and scattered across the country. It is a debt I will always try to repay by doing the same for others. Lastly, an academic work is not the best place to give thanks to one’s family, because it cannot contain the fullness of the connection. However, I should especially note my grandmother, Nigel Herrick, whose love both for her family and for the value of education opened doors for me and others that might not have opened otherwise. Her example sets a standard for us all.

1 C H A P T E R

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Courts and Social Reform

This book is about judicial policymaking. In it, I argue that the role of the courts in the American system of government cannot be understood without seeing them as actors in a complex and dynamic struggle over public policy. Courts cannot command their fellow political actors to obey “higher” constitutional rules, but they are not powerless to influence others. Courts do not merely reflect larger political and social forces: they help shape those forces. I examine closely the influence of state supreme courts on public school fund- ing equity to demonstrate this conception of the judicial role in American government. I focus on three case studies—in Texas, Ken- tucky, and North Dakota—which each show in a different way how court decisions altered the political environment in each state con- cerning a central political issue. After analyzing my data, I devel- oped the theory that informs this book, that of courts as active and relevant participants in ongoing dialogues over policy. In this chapter, I show how this theory fits into contemporary scholarship concerning judicial policymaking and further explicate the design of this study. In chapter 2, I discuss the public school finance equity reform issue in more detail. Chapters 3, 4, and 5 pres- ent the case studies. I analyze the results from these case studies in chapter 6, and then discuss the implications of these findings for future research on questions of court power.

The Place of Courts in American Government

The role for the judicial branch in the American system of “sep- arated institutions sharing powers” (Neustadt 1960:29) has always been problematic. On the one hand, the judiciary is entrusted in the public mind to guard the most sacred symbol of political life, the

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