Members of the local teachers union and some elected officials from Wichita gathered at a rally on Tuesday to urge state lawmakers to address inequities in school funding.
Teachers and parents held signs criticizing the inaction of state lawmakers. Children in purple t-shirts stood with signs reading “I need my summer program.”
The Kansas Supreme Court has threatened to close schools if legislators don’t fix education funding by June 30. But when the legislative session ended, the issue wasn’t addressed.
State Rep. Jim Ward commended the crowd for voicing their disdain with the delay in Topeka. Ward also issued a challenge to Gov. Sam Brownback.
“I want to demand or challenge the governor and his rubber stampers in the Legislature to come here now and look at these children right here and tell them their schools aren’t going to open on July 1 because they want to have a fight with the Supreme Court,” Ward says.
The governor says he will call lawmakers back to Topeka for a special session sometime this month.
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