“The original House and Senate budgets committed all but about $6 million of the state’s expected general fund revenue, but state education officials estimate it would cost about $70 million this year and $39 million next year to comply with the court’s ruling. Where will that money come from?

“Last year, legislators instituted a block-grant system that essentially keeps school funding flat for two years. During that time, they said they planned to write a new school finance formula. That was almost a year ago, but there appears to have been little progress on that task. Faced with the June 30 deadline, legislators are taking a head-in-the-sand approach to the problem. Rather than reinstating the previous school finance formula or stepping up efforts to write a new plan, they are refusing, at least for now, to acknowledge the unpleasant reality they face.

“Legislators seem to be hoping this problem will go away, but it won’t. They may think the Supreme Court would never close Kansas schools and they’re going to call the court’s bluff — or if, by some chance, schools close, Kansans will blame the court, not the Legislature.

“If that’s what they’re thinking, they could be seriously misreading the Kansas public. Meeting the state’s obligation to fund public school is a real responsibility that requires some real leadership that seems to be sorely lacking in the Legislature right now.”

Read more here: http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2016/feb/17/editorial-school-denial/