LAS VEGAS --  Supporters of the Education Initiative say legal challenges were to be expected - and they are still out gathering signatures in support of the initiative to help fund Nevada public schools. Lynn Warne, president of the Nevada State Education Association, says there is little doubt they will gather the just over 72,000 signatures needed.

The initiative would provide dedicated, reliable revenue for K-12 education through a new tax on larger businesses, Warne says.

"We're well over half way there. We have well over 60,000 signatures and we haven't even gotten numbers yet from gathering signatures at the early voting sites around the state, as that effort has started."

Last week, a state judge in Carson City ruled against the summary description of the petition, but Judge James Wilson did not grant an injunction that would have prevented supporters from continuing their petition drive.

Among their concerns, opponents of the education initiative say it would pose a detriment to local businesses, but Warne disputes that.

"The petition is designed to focus on the largest corporations that are operating in the state of Nevada, those that make $1 million or more annually. And the very largest corporations in the state - gaming and mining, for example - are not part of this lawsuit."

Warne is optimistic about the appeal, because she says the judge's finding of misleading and deceptive language focused on what is called the "description of effect," and not the wording of the petition itself.

"It is rather stunning that the judge reversed himself in this decision. The petition language, and what is being proposed in the petition, are not in question at all."