After hours of debate in both the House and Senate, a new school funding formula will head to Gov. Sam Brownback's desk.
On Thursday, lawmakers fast-tracked their response to the Kansas Supreme Court's ruling on school funding.
The plan, HB 2355, passed the Senate in a 32-5 vote and 93-31 vote in the House. It ensures that no school district would lose state aid next year.
"We have winners and winners with this because every school district keeps what they have now and your property poor districts get more money," said Sen. Jeff King, R-Independence.
The KCK School District objected to the bill. David Smith, the spokesman for the district, told 41 Action News the proposal does nothing except reshuffle money.
"Since they didn't change anything, since they didn't respond to the court in a way that actually fixes equity issues, it's absolutely disappointing," said Smith.
Last year, the legislature replaced the state's school funding system with block grants. In February, the high court ruled the block grant system was unconstitutional and did not equitably distribute funds between rich and poor districts. The justices gave lawmakers until June 30 to find a fix or threatened schools would close in the fall.
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Ariel Rothfield can be reached at ariel.rothfield@kshb.com.
