Representative Marc Rhoades (Photo by Stephen Koranda)
The chairman of the Kansas House Appropriations Committee has resigned over disagreements about education funding. The Legislature is working on its response to a state Supreme Court ruling on school spending in Kansas. KPR’s Stephen Koranda reports.
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Republican Marc Rhoades, from Newton, declined to comment on his resignation, but in a statement he says he can’t support the education funding bill. He says the level of spending in the plan is unsustainable. Rhoades and House Speaker Ray Merrick have butted heads over the legislation. Rhoades surprised Merrick and other leaders when he included an unexpected expansion of charter schools in a bill designed to comply with the financial parts of the court’s ruling. Merrick said that wasn’t part of a deal the leaders had brokered. Speaker Merrick released a statement saying it was Rhoades’ decision to step down.