PHOENIX — School administrators from around the state want lawmakers to cough up an extra $304 million to help pay for new mandated programs to teach English to students who are not proficient.

 At a press conference at the Capitol Wednesday, several local school superintendents pointed to requirement which takes effect next year that they provide at least four hours a day of special language classes to the estimated 130,000 youngsters in Arizona schools classified as “English language learners.’’ They noted the state now provides only about $365 extra for each of those students.

 Lawmakers have agreed to provide more — the amount is yet to be determined — if schools follow certain teaching methods. But a study done by the Arizona School Administrators Association pegged the actual cost at $2,741 for each youngster, a figure the local school chiefs say is beyond what they eventually will be reimbursed by the state.

 But state School Superintendent Tom Horne said the costs being claimed by the administrators are inflated.

 He noted the superintendents’ number is based on the state reimbursing schools for costs not recognized as legitimate by the law. Greg Wyman, superintendent of Apache Junction Unified School District, conceded the point but said the law is wrong. Wyman complained in particular that it’s unfair to reimburse schools for the cost of hiring new instructors based on the average teacher salary in the state. He said some districts have higher salaries.

 But Horne said that reimbursement — $43,000 a year plus 25 percent for fringe benefits and other costs — is more than generous. “They’re not going to hire teachers at the average salary,’’ he said. “They’re going to hire beginning teachers,’’ Horne continued. “They’re going to make a profit on every teacher of $10,000 or more.’’

 And Horne said while those hired have to be qualified, “we have no shortage of English teachers.’’

 The fight surrounds a 2006 law designed to comply with federal court rulings that the state is not meeting its legal obligations to ensure that all students have an opportunity to learn English.

 That law directed the Department of Education to come up with accepted “models’’ to teach students who come to school speaking other languages. Then schools are must apply for funding to cover their costs.

 Wyman pointed out that lawmakers haven’t allocated a single cent yet for next year. And he questioned whether legislators will fund anything at all, given the anticipated $1.7 billion shortage next year.

 Mesa School Superintendent Debra Duvall said the reimbursement formula does not fully consider the needs.

 She said Mesa will need 100 new teachers for those special English instruction classes. And Duvall said even using band and other rooms, her district will need 31 additional classrooms.

 Horne called those kind of figures “exaggerated.’’ “Basically, you’re redistributing the same kids,’’ he said.

 Similarly, Horne said there should be only a few situations where additional classrooms are necessary. One thing Horne and the school superintendents agree on is that the law says schools must first exhaust all the federal dollars they get to teach English learners before they can get reimbursed for their costs.

 But the debate may be academic: U.S. District Court Judge Raner Collins already has ruled that diversion is illegal. And that ruling stands unless and until some higher court overturns it.

 Judges at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments by attorneys for Horne and the Legislature last month but have yet to issue a ruling.

 The appellate court also is being asked to void another part of Collins’ order which says it is illegal to limit funding for the special classes to no more than two years. Foes contend there is no evidence that students can become proficient in that short a time.