“The prospect that Shawnee Mission, or any school district, will receive the money anticipated from their block grants is dubious, at best. For one thing, some of the school districts that have been challenging the adequacy of education financing in Kansas have filed legal action to stop the block grant change from taking effect. A court ruling in their favor could throw the situation back into flux.

“Also, a budget passed by the Kansas Senate already spends more than $600 million than the state anticipates receiving in revenues. Many legislators and analysts expect that gap to grow even bigger when new revenue forecasts are announced next week. There is no consensus among lawmakers on how, or even whether, to raise taxes.

“Education is the single greatest expense in the cash-strapped Kansas budget. If lawmakers resort to further cuts to school districts, everyone will end up as losers.”

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/community/joco-913/joco-opinion/article18538334.html