Post by Logan on Jun 6, 2016 4:42:53 GMT -6
Kansas legislators will comply with Supreme Court’s ruling on schools
The Kansas Legislature, governor or both will comply with the state Supreme Court’s ruling on school funding. But the outcome is likely to be ugly.
The court last month dropped the first of what is likely to be two shoes on the Legislature. The justices predictably declared the disparity between state funding for poor school districts and wealthier districts to be unconstitutional. The gap is in the tens of millions of dollars. A larger shoe likely will drop in 2017, declaring funding for all schools to be inadequate and unconstitutional. That remedy is likely to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
The Legislature will comply with the first ruling by June 30, under the threat by the court of closure of all schools if action is not taken. Or if no special session is called and lawmakers do not act, Gov. Sam Brownback will step in.
There will be a lot of teeth-gnashing and sharp attacks on the court. Some extremists already are calling for state government to ignore the court. That would be very risky. Every legislative district is up for election in August and November. What incumbent legislator — especially a conservative — would want to run a campaign with closed schools? The angry residents of Kansas would hold legislators to blame, not the court.
Read more here: www.kansascity.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/steve-rose/article81684487.html
The Kansas Legislature, governor or both will comply with the state Supreme Court’s ruling on school funding. But the outcome is likely to be ugly.
The court last month dropped the first of what is likely to be two shoes on the Legislature. The justices predictably declared the disparity between state funding for poor school districts and wealthier districts to be unconstitutional. The gap is in the tens of millions of dollars. A larger shoe likely will drop in 2017, declaring funding for all schools to be inadequate and unconstitutional. That remedy is likely to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
The Legislature will comply with the first ruling by June 30, under the threat by the court of closure of all schools if action is not taken. Or if no special session is called and lawmakers do not act, Gov. Sam Brownback will step in.
There will be a lot of teeth-gnashing and sharp attacks on the court. Some extremists already are calling for state government to ignore the court. That would be very risky. Every legislative district is up for election in August and November. What incumbent legislator — especially a conservative — would want to run a campaign with closed schools? The angry residents of Kansas would hold legislators to blame, not the court.
Read more here: www.kansascity.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/steve-rose/article81684487.html