Kansas Supreme Court to see how new school funding stacks up

The Kansas Supreme Court plans to hear arguments this week on whether legislators have satisfied a mandate to improve funding for poor schools.

Legislators this year made technical changes in how state aid is distributed without affecting most districts’ share or boosting overall state spending.

Attorneys for four school districts contend the changes don’t fix the problem because poor school districts aren’t getting enough money.

But the state’s lawyers have submitted nearly 950 pages of material from the Legislature’s debate to back up its case that the changes satisfy the high court’s February mandate, which came in a lawsuit filed in 2010 by four of the state’s 286 school districts.

The court plans to hear arguments Tuesday and is expected to rule quickly.