New York States highest court ended a landmark 13-year court battle over education financing today by releasing its ruling that an additional $1.93 billion must be spent each year on New York Citys public schools.  The figure is much lower than the $4.7 billion a year that lower courts had said was needed to give the citys children the opportunity for a sound basic education guaranteed by the State Constitution.  The 4-2 decision by the Court of Appeals ended the case not with an exclamation point but with a mumble. It included three different opinions on the amount of money that ought to be spent on the city schools, including a separate written opinion by the judge who provided the swing vote for the majority. That judge bluntly stated that he was not sure that $1.93 billion a year was the proper figure.  The ruling now leaves the matter to be wrangled over by the State Legislature and Governor-elect Eliot Spitzer in the next state budget cycle, though the lower dollar amount will presumably make it easier for Albany officials to hash out a deal.  Throughout his campaign, Mr. Spitzer repeatedly said that up to $8.5 billion more must be spent on needy school districts throughout the state, including at least $4 billion a year for New York City. But Republican lawmakers, among them Joseph Bruno, the State Senate majority leader, have repeatedly sought to block the additional spending.  The lower courts were wrong, Mr. Bruno said today. They were out of their jurisdiction. They were doing things that were inappropriate. They were literally fooling the public by pretending that a lot of money was going to flow, billions and billions.  For his part, Mr. Spitzer issued a statement reiterating his pledge to provide more money than was ordered by the court. We must provide more funding than this constitutional minimum, so that all of New Yorks schoolchildren have an opportunity to thrive in the 21st century workplace, he said.  Saying he looked forward to working with the legislature on the issue, Mr. Spitzer promised that his executive budget in February will including the expenditure of significant additional funding on a statewide basis as part of a multi-year plan. And he called for improved oversight to make sure the money is spent well.  Other top officials, including Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, said they were reviewing the decision. But the ruling left the plaintiffs in the case, a coalition of New York City education advocacy groups called the Campaign for Fiscal Equity, struggling to put the best spin on what was a deflating end to their long battle.  Finally, we have a decision that requires at least $2 billion in additional funding for the city schools, said Joseph F. Wayland, the chief lawyer for the plaintiffs. Two years ago, the governor was saying they werent deserving of even a cent.  The decision reflected the recent reconfiguration of the court by Gov. George E. Pataki. Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye and Judge Carmen B. Ciparick, who wrote the majority opinions in two previous rulings in the case, voted in the minority.  The majority opinion this time was written by Judge Eugene F. Pigott, Jr. who joined the court in October, on the day final arguments were heard in the school financing case.  The ruling essentially seized on the $1.93 billion figure as a low, but legitimate, amount identified by a commission appointed by Mr. Pataki to figure out how much additional money should be spent on the citys schools. We conclude that this estimate was a reasonable one and that the courts should defer to this estimate, appropriately updated, Judge Pigott wrote.  In a sharply worded dissent, Judge Kaye wrote: A sound basic education will cost approximately $5 billion in additional annual expenditures. I remain hopeful that, despite the Courts ruling today, the policymakers will continue to strive to make the schools not merely adequate, but excellent, and to implement a statewide solution.  The decision yesterday also vacated earlier court rulings mandating more than $9 billion for school construction and other renovations and enhancements to facilities. The court noted that the states authorization earlier this year of $11.1 billion in financing for school construction in New York City had met the states obligation.  Danny Hakim contributed reporting from Albany, N.Y.
The amount was billions less than had been sought in a landmark lawsuit that started 13 years ago.