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KS Supreme Court: School Funding Unconstitutional

03/06/2014

Ks Supreme Court Chief Justice Lawton Nuss

(AP) -- The Kansas Supreme Court says the state's current public school funding levels are unconstitutional.

In Friday's much-anticipated ruling, the court said Kansas' poor school districts were harmed when the state made the decision to cut certain payments when tax revenues declined during the Great Recession.

The court also sent the case back to for more review to determine what the adequate amount of funding should be.

The lawsuit was filed in 2010 on behalf of parents and school districts who argued the state had harmed students because spending cuts resulted in lower test scores.

State attorneys maintained that legislators did their best to minimize cuts to education.

Meanwhile, an attorney for Kansas parents and school districts suing the state over education funding says the state Supreme Court's ruling in the case is a victory for children.

Newton attorney John Robb said that he's pleased with the high court's ruling. The justices ordered the Legislature to boost two kinds of aid to school districts by July 1.

It returned the case to Shawnee County District Court for more hearings on how much total aid the state must provide to ensure that all children have an adequate education.

Robb said the guidelines the Supreme Court set for reviewing total funding are in line with what the parents and school districts had suggested during the lower-court trial.

Gov. Sam Brownback and legislative leaders said they're reviewing the decision.

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