TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas legislators approved an increase in spending on the states public schools in hopes of meeting a court mandate after the rancorous final days of debate highlighted deep divisions among top Republicans.
Republican Gov. Jeff Colyer publicly endorsed a bill that would phase in a $534 million increase in education funding over five years, siding with GOP leaders in the state House who largely drafted it. Attorney General Derek Schmidt, another Republican, had joined Colyer in pressuring legislators to act over the past week.
But the plan passed did not feel like a compromise to the Senates GOP leaders, who favored a plan to phase in a $274 million increase over the same five years. They argued that the bigger plan approved early Sunday and sent to Colyer would force lawmakers to raise taxes within two years.
We know absolutely know if were going to pay this bill, were going to have to increase taxes, said Senate President Susan Wagle, a conservative Wichita Republican.
The Kansas action comes amid tumult in many red states over the issue of school funding. An ongoing teacher strike in Oklahoma is part of a movement that also has included action by educators in West Virginia, Kentucky and Arizona.
Dozens of Kansas teachers, many wearing red shirts, converged on the Statehouse, camped out for hours and cheered after the Senate approved the bill, 21-19, early Sunday. The House had passed the bill Saturday, 63-56.
I am pleased that we were able to compromise and pass a bill that ensures our schools will remain open and are funded adequately and equitably, Colyer said in a statement.
The Kansas Supreme Court declared in October that the states current funding of more than $4 billion a year isnt enough for lawmakers to fulfill their duty under the Kansas Constitution to finance a suitable education for every child. The court gave Schmidt until April 30 to report on how legislators responded.
Colyer and the Republican-controlled Legislature worried that a frustrated high court would take the unprecedented step of preventing the state from distributing dollars through a flawed education funding system, effectively closing schools statewide.
Many Democrats had argued that the plan, drafted largely by top House Republicans, would not satisfy the Supreme Court. Most Democrats in the House voted against it.
But all of the Senates nine Democrats voted for it. The states largest teachers union put aside its own misgivings that the plan was too small and had members pack the Senate gallery and hallways outside the chamber.
It is certainly the best bill weve seen, said Kansas National Education Association lobbyist Mark Desetti. Its time to get something before the court.
