ALBANY, N.Y., Nov. 20 (UPI) -- New York state's highest court issued its final ruling in a legal battle over funding of New York City schools, ordering the state to pay $1.93 billion more.
The Court of Appeals decision Monday tosses the case back to the politicians, The New York Times reported. Eliot Spitzer, who becomes governor in January, and the Legislature must negotiate a final figure.
Lower courts ordered the state to provide $4.7 billion in additional aid for the city, and Spitzer during the campaign called for a total $8 billion increase in state aid to poor districts with half going to New York City. But Joseph Bruno, president of the state senate and other Republicans in the legislature, have said they would not approve that big an increase.
The decision setting $1.93 billion as the constitutional requirement, which matches the figure suggested by a commission appointed by outgoing Gov. George Pataki, is likely to make compromise easier.
"We must provide more funding than this constitutional minimum, so that all of New York's schoolchildren have an opportunity to thrive in the 21st century workplace," Spitzer said.
