Kansas governor lauds school funding plan
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius indicated
on Wednesday she will sign into law a legislative compromise
plan that will increase school funding by $466 million over
three years.
However, the funding plan might not be enough to stop
school districts from seeking the additional money from the
state’s financing system.
Alan Rupe, an attorney representing school districts that
successfully sued the state, said the latest funding increase
did not satisfy a January 2005 Kansas Supreme Court ruling.
“It falls short of what the court ordered and what the
plaintiffs expected,” he said, adding that he will go back to
the high court to suggest that the funding plan was not
sufficient.
The Republican-controlled legislature passed a conference
committee agreement on school funding Tuesday night in a 21-18
Senate vote and 66-54 House vote. Both chambers had previously
passed bills with different funding levels.
The governor said she had pushed for a three-year plan that
followed the guidelines laid out in a legislative cost study
and said in a statement that “92nd day of the session, that
vision became a reality.”
Primary and secondary public schools would get a $194
million funding boost in fiscal 2007, which begins July 1.
Funding would increase by $149 million in fiscal 2008 and by
$122.7 million in fiscal 2009, according to the conference
committee report.
The extra money would be generated by existing state
revenue sources at their current rates.
Lawmakers were under the gun to find more money for schools
after the state high court ruled that they failed to meet their
responsibility under the state constitution to suitably fund
schools. Justices ordered a funding increase last year, which
resulted in lawmakers giving schools a $289 million boost in
the current state budget.
The state’s general fund spending on schools is about $2.6
billion.
The lawsuit that led to the court directive for more school
money was filed in 1999 by districts in Salina and Dodge City.