Republican Governor Sam Brownback has made it official. He has signed an order saying Kansas lawmakers will return to Topeka on Thursday, June 23rd, for a special session on education funding issues. KPR’s Stephen Koranda reports.
The Kansas Supreme Court says funding inequalities among school districts have to be reduced or schools will close after the end of the month. Governor Brownback made it clear he doesn’t agree with the ruling, but he wants to avoid schools closing, so he says lawmakers might add more money to comply.
“I’m seeing several plans now where you use a variety of different sources of funding to come up with the $38 million,” says Brownback
But with a tight budget, the next question is where do you get $38 million? Brownback says it would be shifted from other areas.
“It’s any range of places, including within the education funding formula itself,” says Brownback.
Brownback says new tax revenues will probably not be part of the discussion.
The governor says there could also be policy issues added to the mix to attract lawmakers who aren’t too keen on simply complying with the court order.