Kansas School Finance Ruling Leaves Questions to Answer

The Kansas Supreme. Court has ruled the way the state distributes its school money is unconstitutional
The ruling answered some questions. But others were either sent back to the lower court or placed in the hands of the lawmakers.
The High Court gave lawmakers until. July1, 2014 to deal with issues if how much money the state sends out to school districts in it capital
outlays and it’s local option budget.
Cynthia Lane, Superintendent of the Kansas City, Kansas district, one of the lead plaintiffs in the case described the ruling as” a great day for Kansas”
Lane expects her district will get
more state money now.
She hopes she can hire more teachers and reduce class size.
Shawnee Mission school chief Jim Hinson says his district will receive no new state funds.
He is also puzzled by the questions the ruling did not answer.
“We’re in limbo now,” Hinson said.
A major question in the lawsuit, how much money does it take for an adequate education was not settled.
The High Court kicked that question back to the Topeka Court the case came from.
It also ordered the district court to look to a well know school finance case from Kentucky as a guideline for school spending.
Hinson says its possible the next phase of the case could take years to resolve. And he concedes it may just end up back at the Supreme Court.