Kansas lawmakers facing court mandate set to hike school aid

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Republican-led Legislature in Kansas is preparing to give its final approval to a public school funding increase that the state’s Democratic governor is pushing as the way to end a protracted education funding lawsuit.

But lawmakers aren’t sure that it’s enough money to do the job.

Lawmakers expected to take up-or-down votes Thursday in both the House and Senate on a bill containing Gov. Laura Kelly’s proposal for an increase of roughly $90 million a year. The measure ties the new money to several education policy changes favored by GOP lawmakers.

Four school districts sued the state over education funding in 2010. The Kansas Supreme Court said in an order last year that a 2018 law promising additional funding increases wasn’t sufficient because it hadn’t accounted for inflation.