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The unanimous decision by judges, on Aug. 18, overturned a previous decision by the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Tax Court requiring the Legislature to repay outstanding desegregation money, saying lawmakers were within their rights three years ago in deciding such expenses were the sole responsibility of district residents and should not burden taxpayers from around the state.

But TUSD and Pima County, which is getting involved because it levies taxes for the district and all local governments, think this latest interpretation is wrong and that an increase in property taxes to TUSD homeowners would run afoul of a 1980 constitutional amendment limiting local taxes to not exceeded a 1% property tax cap.

Last month’s ruling affected $8.1 million that a trial judge had previously ruled the state owed to TUSD after he found the 2018 legislative maneuver illegal. During the appeal, the state declined to pay the district, and the amount in question is now $10.6 million, according to TUSD.

At this point the Court of Appeals ruling won’t affect TUSD homeowners, but it will if the ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Supreme Court takes the case and lets the latest ruling stand, which could take a year or longer, says County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry.

If the state Supreme Court declines to take the case, then TUSD will likely have to decide in the next fiscal year whether and how to recover the funds from local taxpayers. The Governing Board could decide to recover the funds all at once or spread it out over two or three years, so the impact is smaller.

The ruling will have no impact this year to schools, on positions and programs funded by desegregation funds, since the district has been able to find other funding sources, from both federal coronavirus stimulus packages and a carry-forward from last year’s budget, to cover the loss, said TUSD Superintendent Gabriel Trujillo during a Governing Board meeting Sept. 9.

“It’s also important to note that as long as the case remains active, TUSD is not responsible for repayment of these funds, until the court deems the case closed,� he said.