Rep. Hunter: Don’t appeal school funding ruling

Rep. Ross Hunter, D-Medina, issued a statement today suggesting the state not appeal today’s ruling in the school funding case.

Here’s the statement:

“Today’s court ruling doesn’t tell us anything we didn’t already know – the Legislature is not giving schools the money they need to provide the quality of education we want. This issue is why I ran for the Legislature in 2002 and it remains my top priority to this day.

“We took an historic step forward last session when we passed House Bill 2261. We expanded the definition of basic education and committed ourselves to reworking the funding formula to make sure lawmakers pay for it. We made students and student success the basis of our new funding approach. I’ve said all along that when our children graduate from high school they should be prepared for jobs that don’t require paper hats. Clearly the courts agree.

“I don’t think the state should waste money appealing this decision. It lights a much-needed fire under legislators to put education funding first.”