Kansas legislators and the State Board of Education have concluded a rare meeting to discuss the status of public education and what common ground they can find on key issues.

Wednesday’s meeting at the Statehouse included the 10-member state board and members of the House and Senate education committees. Most of the discussion focused on how Kansas can wring more efficiency out of the dollars it spends on public schools while boosting student achievement.

Kansas spends more than $3 billion in state revenues on K-12 education annually. Legislators say while the state’s costs have increased in the past decade, student achievement hasn’t grown at the same rate.

Board members agree more can be done to keep costs down working with legislators and local districts.