House Speaker Ray Merrick speaking earlier this year. (Photo by Stephen Koranda)A bill to address a Kansas Supreme Court ruling on education funding was introduced in the Kansas House yesterday (THUR). But the contents of that bill took some legislators by surprise, because it unexpectedly called for an expansion of charter schools. Now, House Speaker Ray Merrick says he plans to introduce a new bill without the charter school language. Merrick says he has been negotiating with the leadership in the Senate and the governor’s office on school funding measures. He says he was surprised by the charter schools provision in the House bill.
Representative Marc Rhoades, a Newton Republican, introduced the bill with the charter school expansion. He says in a statement that he wanted to add the issue to the debate, not undermine the negotiations.