State spending $1.7 M. to fight school funding challenge

[NYS is spending our own money to sell us out. More evidence America is on the decline. ---Bozo]
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By Jessica Bakeman
5:55 a.m. | Mar. 23, 2015
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ALBANY-The Cuomo administration is spending nearly $1 million for expert witnesses and another $700,000 for contracted private attorneys in a case the state is fighting to avoid spending more money on schools.
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The highest paid witness for the state in Maisto v. New York will receive $208,500, and the taxpayers' total bill for the expert testimony is $966,950, according to a Capital analysis of state records. The state is also contracted to pay $700,320 to a private firm for the services of attorneys who have expertise in school funding cases.
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In the lawsuit, filed in 2008, eight small city districts allege the state is underfunding schools and therefore not fulfilling its constitutional obligation to provide students with a "sound, basic education." The eight districts are Jamestown, Kingston, Mount Vernon, Newburgh, Niagara Falls, Port Jervis, Poughkeepsie and Utica.
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Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's office is defending the state against the lawsuit. Argued in State Supreme Court in Albany before Judge Kimberly O'Connor, the eight-week trial concluded earlier this month; attorneys for the plaintiffs said they expect a judgment in the fall. The decision will likely be appealed.
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