TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A legal challenge filed against the state of Kansas over the funding of public schools has reached Shawnee County District Court.
Attorneys are scheduled to present opening arguments Monday before a three-judge panel. The trial is scheduled to last as long as three weeks.
The lawsuit was filed in 2010 by attorneys representing 54 school districts claiming the state is reneging on its promise to maintain suitable levels of funding for education.
It is the second time this decade that the Kansas school finance formula has been under judicial scrutiny. The last dispute resulted in legislators increasing school spending by nearly $1 billion.
The state contends that current funding levels are constitutional and that it is the Legislature’s decision to set funding levels based on available state revenues.
