Court Opinion

ID: 9821014
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-01 07:44:52.188115+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:17:33.471644
License: Public Domain

STOWERS, Chief Justice,
concurring.
I join in the court's opinion. But like Justice Winfree, I am concerned that the court was not given the opportunity to decide the dedicated funds question controlled by article IX, section 7 of the Alaska Constitution as presented by this appeal in the fuller context of the public schools clause of article VII, section 1 of the Alaska Constitution. I do not believe that this court's opinion today necessarily determines that the State's required local contribution would survive constitutional serutiny under article VII, section 1-it might, it might not-but. the. parties intentionally did not litigate this question either in the superior court or this court, and notwithstanding pointed questions by several justices in oral argument inquiring into the potentlal apphcatlon of article VII, section 1, the parties adamantly insisted that constitutional provision was not in issue. -In my view, therefore, the question whether the State's required local contribution is constitutional under the publié schools clause re-maing an undecided question.