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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
NEWS
JULY 13-JULY 19,2005
Court approves education plan
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
TOPEKA - The Kansas Supreme Court on July 8 ruled that the Legislature has complied with its order to boost public school funding.
The court's ruling means that schools will open as planned in August.
Earlier in the day, attorneys on both sides of an education funding lawsuit asked the court to keep public schools open, saying the Legislature's new $148 million spending bill answered the court's order for more education dollars.
The Supreme Court said it would continue to monitor the Legislature's efforts to improve education funding.
"The present solution may not be ideal," the court wrote in a three-page order signed by Chief Justice Kay McFarland. "However, it is approved for interim purposes."
"I think it's a victory for the plaintiffs, all Kansas kids, the State Board of Education and even the Legislature," said Alan Rupe, lead attorney for the parents and administrators who sued the state. "There is a handful that doesn't feel like they were victorious, but they will come realize it because of the improvements they have put in place that will serve Kansas for years to come."
The justices previously had ordered the Legislature to boost school funding by $143 million by July 1. The Legislature approved its $148 million plan the night
of July 7, on the 12th and final day of a special session, but the package included $27.7 million in property tax relief.
A key issue was whether the court would count the money for property tax relief as helping fulfill its mandate.
said. Still, we have Attorney General Phill Kline said he was pleased schools will open in August.
"As I stated at the beginning of the legislative session, our first priority must be that schools are open and our children continue to receive one of the best educations our nation has to offer," he said.
School districts will begin receiving the increased spending in September when the next disbursement of funds are scheduled. State aid to schools will total almost $3 billion for the next academic year, affecting 445,000 students and 64,000 teachers and support staff.
Gov. Kathleen Sebelius said the ruling illustrated what legislators can accomplish when they listen.
In their ruling, the justices also lifted stays placed in June on two provisions passed during the regular legislative session, which ended May 20 that allow local school boards to increase property taxes. The court said its action reflected
"It's great that teachers, parents and students can focus on learning, rather than wondering whether schoolhouse doors will be open in the fall," Sebelius said. "Still, we have lots of work to do."
legislative efforts to make the provisions equitable for all districts.
A stay placed on a third provision, which would allow districts with high housing costs to raise additional property taxes for teacher salaries, was not lifted.
McFarland said the court acted quickly in considering the spending package, "which is of utmost concern to school districts that began their fiscal year on July 1."
The court wasn't the first to use school closure as a threat in education litigation.
In New Jersey in 1976, the state's highest court ordered schools to remain closed, successfully forcing legislators to improve funding. Threats from high courts in Arizona and Texas compelled legislators in those states to do the same.
The court retains jurisdiction in the case, including oversight of a study based on the education costs of meeting state and federal mandates. The study's findings are expected to determine how much more money legislators must spend on schools.
Kansas' school funding debate is the latest development in a lawsuit filed in 1999 by parents and administrators in Dodge City and Salina, who argued the state did not spend enough money on schools and distributed its aid unfairly.
"I'm not the most trusting lawyer of the Kansas Legislature," Rupe said. "I'm going to be on them like a chicken on a June bug on the study."
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