“Anybody with an elementary understanding of separation of powers should be shocked to have one branch of government come over and say they’re going to impede the process of the other,” said State Senator Ty Masterson, the Republican chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. “That’d be no different than us passing a law that says, ‘You can render an opinion, but if we do not agree with it, it shall not be published.’ It’s ridiculous on its face.” [Or, Sen. Masterson, to say that you can render an opinion but we’ll refuse to follow it as you’ve done with the Montoy case and now the Gannon case. Comment by Game On.]
“Just a year ago, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled that lawmakers needed to provide additional aid to poorer districts, and the Legislature passed a law to do that. The ruling stemmed from a years-old lawsuit filed against the state by school districts and parents arguing that education was underfunded.
“But months later, when schools calculated their budgets, it became clear that the legislation would cost more than lawmakers had anticipated. So they scaled back on the additional aid to poorer districts by revising the so-called equalization formula, and passed it as part of the new block grant bill, which Mr. Brownback is expected to sign.
“’I think those that were pushing this bill thought that it would somehow derail the lawsuit, and it does no such thing,’ said John S. Robb, a lawyer for the school districts and parents suing the state. ‘It’s even more unconstitutional, and this bill destroys the equity solution that we all thought we had last May.’…
“Yet the most controversial part of the block grant is the reduction by about $63 million of money intended to help poorer districts.
“’This bill is defying the court order that we’re under right now,’ said State Senator Anthony Hensley, the Democratic leader.
“The bill cleared the House by just seven votes, 64 to 57, with 31 Republicans voting against it. The Senate passed it 25 to 14 last Monday.
“The measure ignored ‘the changing needs of our students,’ said a written statement by three Republican representatives, Melissa Rooker, Barbara Bollier and Diana Dierks. They said they had heard from hundreds of their constituents ‘and their message is clear: Vote no on this bill, fix our revenue problem and adequately fund our schools.’”
Read more here: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/23/us/kansas-schools-fight-plays-out-against-backdrop-of-debate-on-judiciary.html?_r=0