Kansas Supreme Court Motivates State Legislature to Fund Schools

Story by Catherine Grosdidier »

Do you remember a few summers ago when they almost cancelled school for the fall? Luckily, that didn’t happen and school started as planned, but our district will face more issues with funding soon if the legislature does not take action.

Proper funding for public education is a topic that most students are happily unaware of. This issue has been thrust into the spotlight more often over the last two years, as the state legislature has

not been able to address the issue of underfunded school districts. If the state legislature does not put forward a promising plan soon, the Eudora School District could be looking at another potential shutdown.

In 2010, plaintiffs (which are people who bring a case against another in a court of law) filed action that the state of Kansas had violated Article 6 of the Kansas Constitution by not adequately funding K-12 public education throughout the state. This case became known as Gannon vs. Kansas.

In February of 2016, many citizens throughout the city of Eudora became more aware of the Gannon vs. Kansas case when the Kansas Supreme Court gave the state legislature until June 30, 2016 to enact an ‘equitable’ school funding formula. If the formula wasn’t fixed, it said, the state’s public schools would not be allowed to open for the 2016-2017 school year.

Equitable means fair and impartial, which is different from “equal”. All school districts don’t receive an equal amount of money, but they are supposed to receive an equitable, or proportionally fair, amount.

To keep our school district running as a full-time district, we have to be able to pay our teachers and put money toward different programs in each of the schools. Without the funding, our district will not be able to provide the full and well-rounded education that our students deserve. According to EHS Principal Ron Abel, as enrollment sizes continue to grow, classrooms need more teachers. If the funding is not adequate, new staff will not be hired and “individualized student assistance” will become more restrictive. The school district was forced to come up with ways that they would save money if they had to.

“The ideas of having a low student-to-teacher ratio in classrooms were changed, as well as having to cut back on staff being able to collaborate together by department or content area on a frequent basis,” Abel said. “Teachers need collaboration time to find ways to make themselves better educators.”

The state has put forth a plan for funding in order to keep Kansas public schools up and running for the time being. The court has found that formula to be inadequate. There is still a high concern across the state about if it is really benefiting districts and what would this plan entail for the future of our schools?

A majority of the public has become more frustrated with the slow pace of the state legislature when it comes to getting things accomplished. With the Gannon vs. Kansas case going on for as long as it has, Eudora Superintendent Steve Splichal hopes that the approaching deadline of June 30, 2018 will push the legislature along. The Kansas Supreme Court has set this deadline to get our funding formula set into stone very soon.

“It will require time and patience on the part of the legislature to address each of the issues outlined in the Gannon ruling [which is 88 pages long],” Splichal said, “It will be particularly challenging for the legislature to address the issues of how much money to give schools and how to pay for the increased funding.”

As stated before, this case has gone on a for long time and with nothing really to show of the legislature’s work, Mr. Splichal believes that there are many reasons as to why the issue has failed to reach a resolution..

“At the end of the day, it comes down to politics,” he said, “Our kids have been a pawn in the game of politics and unfortunately, have lost for several years.”

Splichal also has hopes for the district to have a “clearer picture” of the legislature’s plan before spring break and, therefore, take the actions needed to use the money for the district in the right way.
It can be hard as a student to realize just how important funding for our public schools is. Mr. Abel hopes that students now and in the future will come to realize the importance.

“Without adequate funding, it is hard for schools to maintain quality school offerings, and retain our best teachers,” Abel said, “It is difficult to provide for all of the different needs of our students and staff we always are seemingly asked to do more with less.”

Mr. Splichal also feels that it is important for students to not only be aware of these issues, but to also be advocates for themselves.

“Students needs to be developing a greater awareness of the issues, especially those that have a direct impact on them,” Splichal said, “Cuts to staff and programs and increased fees have been instituted due to the actions of the legislature. It will take time as those funds are restored to bring back those programs and add new staff to ensure that our students have the best education possible.”