PHOENIX (AP) - A new court ruling says the state Education Department can’t make Arizona charter schools pay back nearly $6 million over payments that they received due a mistake by the department.
The ruling by Judge Dean Fink of Maricopa County Superior Court blocks the department from recouping special funding provided to the schools for teacher-performance pay and other classroom costs.
The state miscalculated that funding provided under a voter-approved sales tax, and the Arizona Charter School Association sued when the state moved to reclaim the overpayments.
The Arizona Republic (https://bit.ly/MrlIdE ) reports that state Superintendent of Public Instruction John Huppenthal couldn’t immediately comment on the ruling and on whether the department will appeal.
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