School districts suing Kansas over education funding are asking the Kansas Supreme Court to keep their entire lawsuit before a lower court.

Attorneys for the four districts asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to reject the state’s appeal of a recent decision from a three-judge Shawnee County District Court panel.

The panel ruled in December that the state must boost its annual spending on public schools by at least $548 million.

Attorney General Derek Schmidt asked the panel to reconsider, but it refused on March 11. Schmidt notified the panel that he would appeal.

The lower-court panel still is considering whether the state distributes its aid fairly among districts.

The aggrieved districts said the Supreme Court should have the lower-court panel finish with the entire case before considering any appeals.