GOP lawmakers in Kansas seek to break school funding impasse
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Top Republican lawmakers tried on Saturday to break their impasse over how much to increase spending on Kansas' public schools, facing intense pressure to pass a plan for satisfying a court mandate on education funding in just a day or two.
Some members of the GOP-controlled Legislature and Republican Gov. Jeff Colyer have worried that a frustrated state Supreme Court would take the unprecedented step of preventing the state from distributing dollars through a flawed education funding system, effectively closing schools statewide.
The House's GOP leaders announced Saturday morning that they wanted their chamber to pass a new plan close to one it passed earlier to phase in a roughly $520 million increase over five years. If they could do that, it would go to the Senate for an expedited vote, which could send it to Colyer for his expected signature.
The Senate previously approved a plan to phase in a $274 million increase over five years.
Negotiators for the House and the Senate had several rounds of talks on Friday to resolve their differences but made little progress on the core issue of how much spending should increase.
Colyer was backing House GOP leaders' efforts, arguing in a statement Saturday that the plan could be sustained without increasing taxes, something top Senate Republicans strongly dispute.
"The time to act is now," Colyer said. "Kansas students, teachers, and families need to know their schools will remain open and be funded adequately and equitably."
The Kansas Supreme Court declared in October that the state's current funding of more than $4 billion a year is insufficient for lawmakers to fulfill their duty under the state constitution to finance a suitable education for every child.
The high court gave Attorney General Derek Schmidt until April 30 to report on how the Legislature responded. Schmidt sent a letter Friday to legislative leaders in both parties, expressing "profound concern" that no school funding bill has passed.
Senate GOP leaders have excoriated the House's plan as likely to force a tax increase within two years. Meanwhile, Democrats said they do not think the House plan or the Senate plan would satisfy the court.
The Legislature had been scheduled to start its annual 2 1/2-week spring break on Saturday, then return to the Statehouse on April 26, just four days before the court's deadline for Schmidt. For now, legislative leaders expect to heed calls from Colyer and Schmidt to delay their break until a school funding bill has passed.
They faced a potential hurdle: Saturday was the 90th calendar day since lawmakers convened their annual session, and the state constitution requires two-thirds majorities of both houses to pass a resolution to stay in session longer. In the past, it hasn't been a problem.
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