Weekend Economists Waiting for Godot March 7-9, 2014

[Demeter]

15. Kansas violating state constitution in school funding, court says

http://news.yahoo.com/kansas-violating-state-constitution-school-funding-court-says-171117877--finance.html

Kansas is violating the state constitution in its funding of public schools, a duty that is mandatory and not to be left to the whims of state legislators, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled on Friday.

The court has given the Kansas legislature until July 1 to fully fund its obligations for state school funding for the next year. That amounts to at least $129.1 million, according to plaintiffs in the case.

"This is a great win for Kansas kids," said attorney John Robb, who represents the school districts, parents and students who brought the case. "It means that the constitution actually has meaning for kids in Kansas."

But while the court upheld part of a lower court finding in favor of a group of public school districts claiming the state should provide more money for education, the court also reversed part of that lower court ruling. Some issues were remanded back for further review by a district court panel, including whether or not the state is meeting its duty to provide an adequate public education.

The lower court ruling, issued in January 2013, found Kansas was short-changing its students, and rejected as illogical a state argument that it could not afford increases in school funding at a time when the state was cutting taxes...