The Washington state Supreme Court has ordered the state government pay a $100,000 daily penalty because it failed to come up with solid plans to pay for public school education.
The ruling stems from an ongoing conflict between the politicians and justices, who said three years ago that the state had to make sure that public education was paid for, notes The Associated Press. However, the government has failed to do so and Gov. Jay Inslee said Monday that he plans on meeting with legislative leaders to hash out a plan.
According to the Spokesman-Review, the justices, as they did in 2012, ruled that the legislature was violating its “constitutional obligation to amply provide for public education” and that “the time has come for the court to impose sanctions.”
The money will be set aside for basic education. Inslee and legislators have until January 2016 to settle the issue, or the state could pay $15 million in sanctions. The state’s two-year operating budget is set at $38 billion.
The AP notes that the main issue to figure out is how to pay for recent reforms and programs that have been adopted. These include all-day kindergarten, making class sizes smaller and adding student transportation and supplies. They also need to work on the reliance of local tax levies to pay for education.
The court couldn’t order a special session of the legislature, but the justices called on Inslee to order one.