© 2024 KMUW
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Local coverage of education issues, health care, and science and technology.

Kansas Lawmakers Suggest Shift In Power Over School Funding

Stephen Koranda

Two Republican lawmakers are suggesting that the Kansas Legislature turn the job of determining how state aid to public schools is distributed over to the State Board of Education.

Reps. Gene Suellentrop of Wichita and Marvin Kleeb of Overland Park raised the idea during a House Appropriations Committee hearing on a school funding plan from the panel's chairman.

The 10-member board would then face the burden of making sure the money is distributed fairly.

The plan is designed to bring the state into compliance with a Kansas Supreme Court order last month saying schools have been unfairly shorted on their state aid.

The plan would boost overall state spending on schools by nearly $39 million for the 2016-17 school year while shifting dollars among districts. Seventy-nine would still lose funds.

The Associated Press is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, it's a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members.