Olson Remcho filed a writ in Sacramento Superior Court on behalf of the California School Boards Association (CSBA) on July 16, 2021 alleging that California State Controller Betty Yee violated Proposition 98 guarantees and state tax law when she issued her budget guidance earlier this year. Proposition 98, which was passed by California voters in 1988, requires a minimum percentage of the state budget to be spent on K-12 education. The Olson Remcho team representing CSBA includes Karen Getman, Kristen Mah Rogers, and Benjamin Gevercer.
According to the writ, “That guidance unlawfully permits counties to avoid allocating to school districts, county education offices and community college districts their lawful share of local property tax revenues from the counties’ Education Revenue Funds, thereby unlawfully decreasing the minimum school funding guarantee provided by Article XVI, Section 8(b) of the California Constitution.” See the Daily Journal story on the case, “School boards sue state controller over tax guidance” provided in full here.
The writ asks the court to issue a permanent injunction barring the use of the Controller’s guidance. According to the writ, “Unless the controller’s erroneous guidance is declared unlawful, it will create a permanent decrease in the Proposition 98 minimum funding guarantee.”