Kansas Supreme Court to rule Thursday on school finance equity

The Kansas Supreme Court is expected to rule Thursday morning on the equity portion of the ongoing school finance lawsuit.

The Kansas State Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the state’s block grant funding formula for K-12 schools is unconstitutional.

New parts of the challenge have included the state getting rid of its old school funding formula and replacing it with new block grants.

That’s why Ford and others say the state supreme court’s decision isn’t surprising, but that decision means even more work for lawmakers.

In its decision, the district court panel references that prior ruling, saying that, by freezing the funding amounts the panel already deemed inadequate the new measure “also stands, unquestionably, and unequivocally, as constitutionally inadequate in its funding”. He made his intentions known to the Kansas Supreme Court late Friday, hours after the lower court decision was released.

“Accordingly, the Legislature’s chosen path during the 2016 session will ultimately determine whether Kansas students will be treated fairly and the schoolhouse doors will be open to them in August for the beginning of the 2016-2017 school year”, the ruling stated. The Kansas Supreme Court has found that our block grant system of funding is NOT equitable. The district court ruling suggested annual education spending should be as much as $548 million to $771 million higher than it is now.

The court gave lawmakers until June 30 to approve a new formula, report the Wichita Eagle, the Associated Press and the Kansas City Star.

“While we are affirming the panel’s holdings by declaring that Senate Bill 7 fails to cure the inequities affirmed to exist in Gannon I, a majority of the court agrees with the state that the Legislature should be given another, albeit shortened, opportunity to develop a constitutional school funding system”, the ruling states. “What we’re most interested in is the Legislature and governor’s response because it appears in the preliminary reading that the courts have given the Legislature until June 30 this year to address the equity of the funding formula”. “On behalf of the educators of Kansas, I call upon the legislature to end the partisan gamesmanship and to fulfill its obligation to the kids of Kansas without reservation or retribution”.

Today the Kansas Supreme Court showed itself to be the most politically motivated of all branches of government, despite its self-declarations of judicial detachment.

They find it coincidental this decision preceded a final vote on the budget in the House.

Thursday’s ruling came in a lawsuit that four districts have been pursuing since 2010.

Four school districts are challenging the 2015 school funding law. The panel ordered the state to restore the funds under the earlier formula.

If the legislature doesn’t comply and reduce disparities between school districts, the court threatens to close public schools. The High Court has said it will hear oral arguments on the adequacy question this spring, but has not yet set a date.