For the second time in six years, Kansas courts are examining the issue of state funding for public education. The state maintains that it is spending an adequate amount of money on education, and that the actual dollar-amount should be determined and appropriated by the legislature, based on state revenue... rather than simply appropriated by the state's judicial system. Alan Rupe was the attorney who represented the Salina and Dodge City school districts in 2006. He says that the Kansas Supreme Court did not actually appropriate the funding, and that it merely issued a decision.
That article states the Kansas Legislature must provide adequate funding for education. A lawyer for the state says legislators have done the best they could in a struggling economy. Opening testimony in the latest court challenge of the state's education funding began today (MON). The case is expected to take two or three weeks.
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Kansas School Finance Lawsuit Underway
The battle over education funding in the state of Kansas has once again been taken to the courts. The court challenge that began yesterday (MON) in Shawnee County is the second on the subject in the last six years. The current lawsuit addressing the issue of school funding was filed after a Shawnee County court gave the go-ahead in March for about 130 Kansas school districts to sue the state. What's at issue is millions of dollars in funding that were appropriated by the state legislature, which were then never paid to school districts. Attorney Alan Rupe represents the school districts.
The state is arguing that education funding should be a matter left up to lawmakers and determined on the basis of state revenue. The trial, which is expected to take two or three weeks, got underway today (MON).