The Arizona Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a ballot initiative that would have raised income taxes on Arizona’s wealthiest residents to increase funding for schools across the state, a blow to many student and teachers’ activists in the state.

The court ruled Thursday that language in the initiative, which would have raised income taxes by between 3 and 4 percent on individuals earning more than $250,000 per year in the state, was confusing to voters because it did not explain whether the totals would be adjusted for inflation, according to The New York Times.

Advocates of teacher strikes in Arizona, which shut down public schools in the state over demands for increased funding earlier this year, say that the court’s decision invalidated the will of hundreds of thousands of Arizonans who fought for the measure to make it on the ballot in November.

“This is absolutely stunning, and it denies citizens and teachers what they fought so hard for — the opportunity to fund our students and schools,” teacher and strike organizer Noah Karvelis told the Times.