Syndicated to Kansas newspapers July 4, 2016
Lawmakers, mostly Republicans, have danced around the two biggest issues that might have seen many of them buying their own lunch and drinks—in their hometowns—next legislative session.
The conservative Republicans reluctantly joined moderate Republicans and Democrats to pass a school funding bill that the Kansas Supreme Court says meets half of the constitutional infirmities alleged in the state’s $4 billion a year support of public education.
And the high court said, essentially, we won’t close down schools this time…but the school finance issue is just half done.
Oh, and by borrowing some $900 million from the state’s idle funds in what they call a certificate of indebtedness, there were no layoffs or furloughs of state workers and most of the bills got paid on time as the fiscal year ended Thursday.