SAN DIEGO - The San Diego Unified School District is leading the charge against the state of California in an effort to get paid for state-mandated programs.
SD Unified and five other districts across the state, including Poway Unified and the Grossmont Union High School District, say they're owed millions of dollars and they want California to stop with excuses and to start paying for the programs.
The lawsuit, filed Dec. 2, alleges the state is shirking its constitutional responsibility by seeking "creative methods" to avoid giving districts the full amount owed.
According to the lawsuit, the state has been trying to rewrite the playbook on funding, using statutes to wipe out nearly $365 million in mandated costs owed to the districts.
For SD Unified, that's a loss of $7,092,459. Poway Unified wants to recover $2,303,689, and Grossmont Union stands to gain $1,173,083.
Team 10 contacted communications officers for all three districts. SD Unified referred Team 10 to a lawyer in Sacramento, and Poway Unified's spokesperson said the district couldn't comment on pending litigation.
Team 10 did not hear back from the spokesperson from Grossmont Union.
