TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A top education official says Kansas would have to phase in another $364 million increase in public school funding over five years to comply with a recent Kansas Supreme Court order.
Deputy Education Commissioner Dale Dennis presented his calculations Tuesday to the State Board of Education.
The Supreme Court ruled last month that a new law phasing in a $548 million increase in school funding over five years isn’t adequate under the state constitution but gave legislators until next spring to fix it.
Under Dennis’ calculation, the total increase would exceed $900 million.
The court said the new law should have provided additional funds to cover inflation and noted that the average rate was 1.44 percent from the 2010-11 school year through 2016-17. Dennis used that average in his calculations.