Ketchikan Superior Court Judge William Carey says he will decide by today whether he should approve a stay of his January decision regarding an education funding case between the State of Alaska and the Ketchikan Gateway Borough.
Kathryn Vogel is an Assistant Attorney General with the Alaska Department of Law. Participating by phone from Juneau, she argued that the state clearly would be irreparably harmed if a stay is denied, the borough would not suffer if a stay is approved, and that the state believes it has a good chance of succeeding in its appeal to the Alaska Supreme Court.
Those are the three legal elements needed for a stay to be approved.
In his January decision, Carey ruled that municipalities should not be required to pay for public education because the required local contribution is essentially a tax earmarked for a special purpose. Carey said that is a violation of the state Constitution.
Soon after his ruling, the state filed an appeal with the Supreme Court, and asked for a stay pending the high court’s decision in the case. Vogel said the stay is extremely important because the Legislature needs to know now what to do about funding public education for the entire state.
Carey said he understands that the state is anxious to get a decision, and he will work on the case over the weekend.
“I want to get a decision done on this, obviously as soon as possible,” he said. “I’ll shoot for Monday. That’s all I can say.”
State attorneys also have filed a motion for a stay with the Alaska Supreme Court, but the high court announced that it would wait and see what Carey decides before making its own ruling on that motion.
About 20 people sat in the audience at Friday’s hearing, most representing the Ketchikan Gateway Borough. They included the mayor, Assembly members, borough manager, assistant manager, clerk and finance director, and the superintendent of the Ketchikan School District.
