FILE PHOTO / Kansas News Service
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas legislative committee is planning to consider the potential problems caused by diverting hundreds of millions of dollars to public schools from other parts of the budget.
The special joint committee is scheduled to meet Monday and Tuesday to continue gathering information. Lawmakers have started work on a response to a Kansas Supreme Court order in October to boost spending on public schools.
Legislators aren’t so much interested in slashing spending in other parts of the budget to provide more money for schools as spelling out the potential harm. Many also don’t want to increase taxes next year.
Lawmakers earlier this year phased in a $293 million increase education funding over two years to make it $4.3 billion annually. The court said that still wasn’t constitutionally adequate.