Kansas lawmakers advance school funding bill despite last-minute objections

TOPEKA -- A Kansas Senate committee passed Gov. Laura Kelly’s school spending bill Wednesday, despite last-minute opposition from a coalition of 50 school districts that had previously supported the measure.

It now heads to the Senate floor.

Last year lawmakers added $548 million to be phased into the state’s $4 billion education budget by 2022, as part of an ongoing lawsuit challenging the adequacy of the state’s school spending.

But the Kansas Supreme Court ruled that the plan did not account for inflation and gave the state until April 15 to address the problem.

Kelly’s bill, HB 142 would add about $92 million a year for the next four years, or about $360 million by 2023.

Read more: https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article227208049.html