Page:Lake View School District No. 25 v. Huckabee, 351 Ark. 31 (2002).pdf/15

Rh 1999), and establishing the Arkansas Comprehensive Testing Assessment and Accountability Program (ACTAAP) to assess and evaluate academic progress and performance in the public schools with an emphasis on reading and writing, literacy, and mathematics from the earliest grades.

Prior to the compliance trial in 2000, a total of 144 school districts sought to intervene and align themselves with the State's position that the post-1994 legislation had cured the constitutional deficiencies. The trial court denied the motions. In September and October of 2000, the trial court conducted the compliance trial over nineteen days. Thirty-six witnesses testified, including some for a second time. One hundred and eighty-seven exhibits were introduced and considered. The resulting appellate record was ninety-nine volumes and totaled 20,878 pages. On September 19, 2000, Lake View filed a revised petition for an award of attorneys fees in the amount of $32.5 million and for litigation costs of at least $200,000. On September 22, 2000, the Rogers and Bentonville School Districts filed a cross-complaint against the State in which they contended that the school-funding system was constitutionally inadequate.

Judge Kilgore entered his final order on May 25, 2001, as already referenced, in which he declared the current school-funding system to be unconstitutional on the twin grounds of inadequacy under the Education Article and inequality under the Equality provisions of the Arkansas Constitution. See Ark. Const. art. 14, § 1, art. 2, §§ 2, 3, 18. He further awarded Lake View's counsel attorneys' fees of $9,338,035 but denied their request for costs.

I. Posture of the Parties
Though Lake View prevailed on the core issue of the unconstitutionality of the post-1994 legislative acts, it filed the first notice of appeal on June 22, 2001, and raised issues including Judge Kilgore's failure to deem Judge Imber's 1994 order law of the case, the failure to classify desegregation money as state aid, the failure of the trial court to award adequate attorneys' fees, the failure of the trial court to hold the State in contempt of court for