A school finance proposal that would boost funding by more than $75 million is going to fall short of what the Kansas Supreme Court views as adequate.
As The Wichita Eagle reports, the court ruled earlier this month that the state was not providing an adequate education to all Kansas students and gave the Kansas Legislature until June 30 to come up with a new school finance formula.
House Bill 2410 is lawmakers’ first attempt to answer to that ruling and would increase school funding by $75 million, an amount that would benefit some districts but would result in more than 100 school districts losing money next year, due mainly to declining enrollment.
Predictions on how much adequacy could cost ranged from around $500 million up to $800 million per year, far more than the boost in state aid the Department of Education said would come from the formula.
Hearings on the school finance plan are set to continue today.