This article provides some background and some ideas about what the future holds as the Gannon case proceeds.
“In 2005, during battles over the last school finance lawsuit, the Kansas Supreme Court threatened to close the state’s schools unless the Legislature appropriated more money, saying it could not allow the state to continue operating an unconstitutional funding system.
“Conservative Republicans who led the Kansas House at that time dug in their heels, at first refusing to comply with the court’s order, which they said violated the separation of powers doctrine.
“But in 2005, there were enough Democrats and moderate Republicans in the House to form a working majority and pass a bill, making it possible for conservatives to save face by voting against it.
“That’s no longer the case. Conservatives now hold solid majorities in both chambers. And many of them still insist that education funding is a political decision that only the Legislature, not the courts, can decide.
“Rep. John Carmichael of Wichita, an attorney and the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, said that this time, a showdown between the courts and the Legislature could have dire consequences.
“’We could see not only schoolhouse doors closed because the court enjoins the expenditure of funds under the block grant proposal, but we could also see the courthouse door padlocked,’ he said.
“Carmichael said he thinks that’s an unlikely outcome. ‘I think cooler heads will eventually prevail,’ he said.”
Read more here: http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2015/may/10/school-funding-lawsuit-could-set-stage-constitutio/