By Christina Kohn
Thanks to a new agreement signed by the Goldwater Institute and the Cave Creek Unified School District, the tax dollars of district residents are safe for now. In April, the Goldwater Institute sued the district because it decided to spend bond money on projects not approved by the voters. In its agreement with the Goldwater Institute, the district promised to delay spending the funds until a judge determines whether the expenditures are legal.
At issue is whether districts can spend bond money on projects voters have not approved. In November 2000, Cave Creek District voters approved a $41.6 million bond program for the primary purpose of constructing new schools. After building two elementary schools, the district had $13 million left over, which it decided to use on other projects instead of spending it on other approved purposes or paying off the bonds. To give the school district legal cover, the legislature passed a special law allowing certain school districts to redirect bond money from voter-approved projects to projects school board members prefer.
The Goldwater lawsuit challenges the deal on two grounds. First, the district breached its contract with voters. Second, the new law violates the Arizona Constitution’s special law clause, which prohibits governments from passing laws that don’t apply equally to all.
Courts in five other states – California, Nebraska, Texas, Florida, and West Virginia – have recognized that contracts between a government and voters in a bond election must be protected. Arizona courts should likewise uphold this contract between the Cave Creek voters and the school district.
Learn More:
Goldwater Institute: Friedman v. Cave Creek Unified School District
Goldwater Institute: Promises, promises: Cave Creek School District violates contract with voters
Arizona Republic: Cave Creek district renovation projects to begin in March
Christina Kohn is a staff attorney at the Goldwater Institute’s Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutional Litigation. Before joining the Institute, Christina worked to advance liberty as a law clerk at the Pacific Legal Foundation in California and a research intern at the Michigan-based Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Christina earned her J.D. summa cum laude from Michigan State University College of Law. While at Michigan State, she served as notes editor of the Michigan State Law Review and president of the MSU Federalist Society. Christina graduated magna cum laude from Hillsdale College with a B.A. in history and political economy and completed an honors thesis on the economic history of the U.S. Postal Service. 
