
TOPEKA — Kansas legislative leaders plan to spend $400,000 to get help in drafting a new public school funding law, including separate lawyers for the House and Senate.
The five top Republicans in the GOP-controlled Legislature agreed on the plan Tuesday. The two Democrats present at legislative leaders’ meeting called it a waste of money and opposed it.
The House and Senate each would spend $100,000 to hire its own attorney. The entire Legislature has had a single attorney previously.
Lawmakers also plan to spend $200,000 to hire a school finance expert to study how much it costs to finance a suitable education for every child.
The Kansas Supreme Court ruled last month that a law phasing in a $293 million increase in school funding over two years wasn’t sufficient.