Special Session to Address Kansas School Funding
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Kansas legislative leaders preparing for a June 23 special session to discuss school funding say they plan to resolve the issue quickly to avoid school closures on July 1. The state's Supreme Court ruled last month that the Legislature's plan for school funding is unfair to poorer districts. The court gave the lawmakers until June 30 to find a solution. The special session is likely to focus on possible redistribution of funding between wealthy and poorer school districts. GOP lawmakers have expressed little interest in broadening the debate to include issues such as academic standards.
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Kansas Attorney General Pleads with High Court to Keep Schools Open
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt wants the state Supreme Court to rescind its warning that the state's schools may close if the Legislature doesn't fix funding inequities. The high court found the state's school funding system unconstitutional in February and set a June 30 deadline for the Legislature to correct it.
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Kansas Wheat Crop Looks Promising
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - Kansas farmers have begun harvesting what appears to be a bountiful wheat crop, easing some of the sting from low grain prices. The latest production forecast released Friday also adjusted upward the government's estimate for the size of this year's U.S. winter wheat crop to 1.51 billion bushels. That is up 10 percent from a year ago.
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Arkansas River Now Part of National Water Trail Network
PRATT, Kan. (AP) - Kansas officials say a portion of the Arkansas River in Kansas is being designated as a part of the National Park's Service water trail network. The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism says the 192-mile stretch of the Arkansas River from Great Bend to the Oklahoma border southeast of Arkansas City was named a National Water Trail on June 4.
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Kansas State Senior Claims National High Jump Title
Kansas State's Kim Williamson captured the high jump title of the final day of the NCAA track and field championships yesterday (Saturday). Williamson, a senior from Jamaica, finished second in the same event last year.
