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“‘Justice requires this court take immediate action to stop these ongoing efforts by the state to dodge its constitutional obligations,’ [Plaintiffs’ attorney Alan] Rupe said. “Rupe pointed to a 2005 state Supreme Court ruling in a related school funding case, Montoy v. State, in which the high court ordered the Legislature to provide $285 million to schools. “He said avoiding the current case because of ‘legislative discretion,’ would be a denigration of constitutional duties the justices emphasized in the Montoy case. Leaving the legislative or executive branches to decide whether their actions are constitutional is ‘literally unthinkable,’ he...

“A national credit rating firm reported Friday adoption in Kansas of a block-grant system for financing public schools to be a ‘negative’ development worthy of scrutiny by investors. “Moody’s Investor Service in New York theorized repeal by the 2015 Legislature and Gov. Sam Brownback of the state’s traditional funding mechanism for K-12 schools could disadvantage growing districts because state financing wouldn’t completely take into account expansion of student enrollment… “Bond ratings are used to identify a level of risk associated with investing. Better ratings can command lower interest rates for a school district or government entity issuing bonds.”...

“The district’s 4-year-old, at-risk program, which used to prepare children for kindergarten with basic English and math skills, has been shuttered for the 2015-16 school year because the district could not find anyone to teach it. “Earlier this year, USD 452 also shut down its alternative education program because of the way state funding is calculated under the new block grant funding formula… “USD 452’s learning center was one of four run with help from the SPRSC that closed in March, when the Kansas Legislature scrapped the state’s school finance formula and replaced it with block grants, according...