The Associated Press has reported that Kansas Deputy Education Commissioner Dale Dennis told the State Board of Education Tuesday that the state would have to phase in another $364 million increase in public school funding over five years to comply with a recent Kansas Supreme Court order.
The Supreme Court ruled in June that a new law phasing in a $548 million increase in school funding over five years isn’t adequate under the state constitution but gave legislators until next spring to fix it. Under Dennis’ calculation, the total increase would exceed $900 million.
In Junction City the 65th District State Representative Lonnie Clark told JCPost.com that he thought the Legislature would do everything they can to meet the need of schools. “But I think we’re going to do it wisely, and we’re going to do it with the money that comes in on the Brownback experiment being over and the tax increases that we’ve seen over the last three quarters. It may be very easy, I can’t really predict that but if it’s there we’re going to do it and if it’s not we’re going to do the best we can.”
Clark has represented the 65th District, which includes a portion of Junction City, in the Legislature for the past four years.
