Top Republicans in the Kansas Legislature are preparing to outline their plan for overhauling how the state distributes money to public schools.

The chairmen of the House and Senate budget committees have scheduled a Thursday morning news conference at the Statehouse to discuss the school funding bill they’ve drafted. Rep. Ron Ryckman Jr., of Olathe, and Sen. Ty Masterson, of Andover, are to be joined by other Republican legislative leaders.

Their bill was expected to include Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s proposal to junk the state’s existing formula for distributing $3.6 billion in aid and instead give local districts block grants while legislators write a new formula.

Ryckman and Masterson have said their bill will keep districts’ property taxes at current levels and give them more flexibility in using reserve funds.