Education funding: Might Arizona simply ignore a judge's order?

What if a judge were to order Arizona to provide money it doesn't have for public education?  Might the state simply ignore the order?  Former state senator Frank Antenori of Tucson, an influential voice in the state's Republican party, says that's one possibility.  Antenori tells PowerTalk 1210 that such an order could force a state constitutional crisis with a wide range of dire consequences.

At issue:  Educators are demanding up to $1.7 billion in payments.  A judge has already found that the state must pay $317 million immediately for having failed since 2010 to increase the state education budget by at least 2% a year as mandated by a voter-approved initiative.  State educators have offered to settle at that amount now and give up their demand for another 1.3 billion in "back pay." 

Below is an interview with Sen. Antenori as heard on PowerTalk 1210's Forrest Carr show in which he discusses these and other educational funding possibilities and challenges.

©2014 by Forrest Carr.  All rights reserved.