Petersen, Montenegro Fight Judge over School Funding Deadline

PHOENIX — Arizona Republican leaders are asking the state Court of Appeals to block, or at least delay, enforcement of a ruling first issued Aug. 13, 2025, that found the state’s public school capital funding system unconstitutional. Attorneys for Senate President Warren Petersen and House Speaker Steve Montenegro contend Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Dewain Fox exceeded his authority when he ordered the state to develop and fund a system that ensures schools meet minimum facility standards.

“These funds do not materialize out of ether,” attorneys for Petersen and Montenegro wrote. “They must either be extracted from the wallets of Arizona citizens and businesses or transferred away from other agencies and departments that provide vital health, safety, and social services.”

The order followed Fox’s ruling that Arizona’s school funding structure has left some districts without safe buildings, adequate repairs, and basic equipment needed for students to learn.

The dispute stems from Arizona’s constitutional requirement that lawmakers maintain a “general and uniform” public school system. Fox cited evidence of leaking roofs, unsafe buildings, excessive classroom heat, mold, inadequate air conditioning, and insufficient academic equipment, including computers. The judge did not order lawmakers to spend a specific amount. Instead, he gave the Legislature and the Governor until early November to create a compliant system. If they fail, Fox could bar the state from maintaining an unconstitutional funding structure, a move legislative attorneys warn could threaten the flow of school funding.

Republican leaders argue the courts cannot dictate education policy or budget priorities, saying compliance could require billions of dollars that would have to come from taxpayers or from other state services. Attorneys for school districts and education groups counter that Fox’s order does not tell lawmakers how to legislate, but simply requires them to meet constitutional obligations and fund standards the state itself created after a 1994 Arizona Supreme Court ruling.

They urged appellate judges not to delay the order, arguing students cannot wait years for repairs while attending classes in buildings that undermine learning.