“But the simple fact is that the state Legislature has failed for years to adequately fund schools, and dozens of lawmakers in Topeka understand that.
“Numbers don’t lie. In June, the state was spending $4,006 a student. A decade ago, lawmakers agreed to a base level of $4,492 per student. Adjusted for inflation, that figure would be $5,035 today.
“In other words, we’re way short of where the Legislature itself has determined we need to be…
“The reality is that Ryckman doesn’t have the votes to pass a constitutional amendment on school funding, and he knows it. Changing the constitution requires a two-thirds majority vote in both the House and Senate, and those votes aren’t there.”
Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/…/editoria…/article182668546.html…
We testified against the last attempt to amend the constitution in 2016, which failed. We also note that the the Supreme Court justices survived a retention vote last year. The problem isn’t the court, or the constitution. The problem is the legislature tried to get away with a low-ball fix based on their faulty application of a “Successful Schools Model” which was not tied to the achievement of academic standards and set funding too low. The court has spoken, again, and the legislature needs to come up with an intelligent plan based on real needs and real numbers and to stop trying to convince themselves there’s another way to avoid providing Kansas school children with what they need.
Originally posted on Facebook November 5, 2017.