Supreme Court finds school funding inequitable

According to the ruling, if by June 30, the state is unable to satisfactorily demonstrate to the court that the Legislature has complied through additional remedial legislation, then “no constitutionally valid school finance system exists through which funds for fiscal year 2017 can lawfully be raised, distributed, or spent”. Dale Dennis, deputy state education commissioner, said the combined estimated shortfall for the current school year and the 2016-2017 academic year is nearly $110 million.

The Kansas Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the state is not funding its schools properly and if the situation isn’t fixed soon, it may shut the schools down.

They saw the old, per-pupil formula as too complicated and said it diverted too much aid from classrooms. In 2004 and 2005, a combination of district and Supreme Court rulings forced lawmakers to increase allocations or else face an injunction to that effect.

The Kansas State Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the state’s block grant funding formula for K-12 schools is unconstitutional.

Today’s decision by the high court is clear: The Kansas Constitution demands “adequate funding” of schools. But the court said the law left schools severely underfunded. A fellow Republican, Sen.

The decision rests with lawmakers, the court said, who “will ultimately determine whether Kansas students will be treated fairly and the schoolhouse doors will be open to them in August”.

The ruling affirms a Court of Appeals decision that the state had failed to correct constitutional inequities in the state’s school funding system.

The lower court ruling came just hours after lawmakers adjourned their 2015 session. The lawsuit argues that poor districts, along with disadvantaged and minority students, were hurt most by the law.

The Supreme Court found that the block grant system, passed in March of past year, reverses previous legislation that had substantially satisfied the equity requirements of the constitution.

The state has struggled to balance its budget since legislators slashed personal income taxes in 2012 and 2013, at Brownback’s urging in an effort to stimulate the economy.

Brownback has repeatedly noted that the state’s total aid continues to set annual records, and many GOP legislators believe they’ve been generous. The justices said if lawmakers don’t rewrite the law by June 30, the state’s schools must shut down. But many educators contend the 2015 block-grant law was unfair because it didn’t automatically increase a school district’s aid if it had more students or if a greater percentage of students had special needs.

The court has said previously that the Kansas Constitution requires the state to ensure that all students receive a suitable education. “I think where the challenge will come is in the uncertainty of what may happen”, Rasmussen said. He made his intentions known to the Kansas Supreme Court late Friday, hours after the lower court decision was released.

Brownback’s office did not immediately respond with comment on Thursday’s state Supreme Court ruling. The court ordered the state to fully fund both capital outlay and supplemental general state aid and struck the parts of SB 7 that alter those formulas.