Senate President Susan Wagle speaking last month. (Photo by Stephen Koranda)The Kansas Senate will start debate on an education funding bill late this (THUR) afternoon, and Senate President Susan Wagle says she believes the debate could last until the early hours of Friday morning. Wagle, a Wichita Republican, says she’s hoping lawmakers will be able to finish work on the issue before legislators leave for a month-long break.
“I believe there’ll be a lot of amendments on the floor, and I believe late into the night and possibly early tomorrow morning we’ll have a good work product that the Senate puts out,” says Wagle.
The bill is a response to a Kansas Supreme Court ruling that says lawmakers created unconstitutional inequalities between school districts by cutting certain education funds. The Senate version includes both new money and cash shifted from other areas of the state budget. The measure also includes a tax credit for people who send their children to private schools. Local governments would be given more authority to raise property taxes for schools under the bill.