TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Lawmakers who are angry with the state Supreme Court’s ruling that they have to provide considerably more money for schools are talking again about amending the Kansas constitution to curb the courts’ power.
Moves to amend the constitution have become nearly automatic for conservative Republicans over the past dozen years as the court has ruled against the state in lawsuits arguing it isn’t meeting its constitutional obligation to fund schools adequately or fairly. But supporters have never mustered the two-thirds majorities in the Legislature needed to get the amendments on the ballot for a statewide vote.
Will the 2018 legislative session be any different?
So far, the answer is no.
“My guess is that we will not have anywhere close to the number we need that will even agree on the language,” said Senate Vice President Jeff Longbine, a moderate Emporia Republican who is open to the idea of amending the constitution but not actively pushing it.
The Supreme Court ruled in March that state funding for the 286 local school districts was constitutionally inadequate. Lawmakers voted to phase in a $293 million increase for schools over two years, raising the total to $4.3 billion annually and increasing income taxes to pay for it.
But the school districts that had sued over funding warned legislators that wasn’t enough money. In October the court agreed, signaling that the state might need to spend as much as $650 million more a year.
Almost immediately some lawmakers began talking about a need to rein in the court’s power. They oppose raising taxes, or want to devote money to other state needs, or object to the court making funding decisions.
The Kansas Constitution says the state must make “suitable provision” for financing public schools.
With the court interpreting the constitution, GOP lawmakers, particularly conservatives, see the arduous task of amending the constitution as the only surefire way to prevail in arguments about how much money schools need to provide the education that Kansans want for their children.
They argue that lawmakers and governors - put in office by voters directly - are better suited to determine what is adequate in terms of school funding and what is reasonable in terms of taxes.
Amending the constitution requires a two-thirds majority vote in both houses of the legislature and a majority vote at the polls statewide.
Of the 15 proposed constitutional amendments related to school funding that lawmakers have drafted since 2005, five sought to rewrite the education section of the constitution to eliminate the word “suitable” or give the Legislature the last word on funding. The Senate approved one such proposal in 2013, only to see no House vote.
Lawmakers worry the high court could threaten to shut down schools to make the Legislature obey. Conservative Republican Sen. Dennis Pyle, of Hiawatha, is proposing a constitutional amendment to allow only local school boards to close schools. That proposal has come up four previous times.
A special joint committee on school funding expects to discuss constitutional changes Dec. 18 and 19. Attorney General Derek Schmidt’s office is working on a proposal because lawmakers are interested.
Longbine said such efforts represent normal pushback from lawmakers who think the court is stepping on their authority to determine what the state spends and levy the taxes needed to pay for it. Longbine said he’d like the constitution’s language to be more specific about what’s required in education funding.
Patrick Miller, a University of Kansas political scientist, said pursuing a constitutional amendment may be a bargaining tactic to tell colleagues how far they’d like to go.
“Maybe it’s just an expression of rage or unhappiness,” he said.
The political math hasn’t changed in more than a decade.
Democrats are all but certain to vote together against any proposed amendment.
Conservative Republicans need the votes of GOP moderates to get the two-thirds majorities to put a proposal on the ballot. And GOP moderates are skeptical - even of an amendment to prevent the courts from shutting down schools. Some of them see the threat of school closings as a tool the courts can use to enforce their orders.
“To me, it’s akin to taking a scalpel away from a surgeon,” said state Rep. Melissa Rooker, a Fairway Republican.
Said Longbine: “I just don’t see a path.”
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