Kansas Urges Court to Let Governor, Lawmakers Decide Funding

Kansas is urging the Kansas Supreme Court to let the governor and lawmakers decide whether schools are getting enough money.

Lawyers for the state argued in a brief Tuesday that if the court wants to make that decision, then the evidence students are excelling should convince it that the funding is sufficient.

Attorney General Derek Schmidt contends the Kansas school finance system satisfies the requirement for adequate funding in the state Constitution.

It urged justices not to allow a small number of districts to second-guess the Legislature’s judgment.

The new school funding law took effect in April and scrapped the old per-student formula for distributing aid in favor of predictable grants for each districts.

A lower-court panel invalidated parts of the school financing law enacted by the Republican-dominated Legislature.