The Schools for Fair Funding group met in Salina today and voted to sue the state for more funding for education. The meeting received an onslaught of media coverage. Unfortunately, none of these news sources ask questions that must be answered:

• Will this create a constitutional crises in Kansas (again) with the Kansas Supreme Court usurping the power of the legislature to decide expenditures of tax dollars?
• With many Kansas Courts already likely to take furloughs because of limited funds, will the courts need longer furloughs to fund education in Kansas?  Isn’t this a conflict of interest for the courts?
• Where will any additional funds for education come from?   With unemployment high, weak economic conditions, and tax dollars low, where will the money come from?  A report today from Wichita State’s Center for Economic Development & Business Research said jobs in Kansas were down 3.2% in 2009, and are projected to be down 0.5% next year.
• When will the children in the schools be asked to participate in their future?  Why are school students not asked about how school spending can be reduced?
• How much will the attorneys for Schools for Fair Funding be paid for suing Kansas?

Related

• Kansas Primer on Education Funding: Volume II Analysis of Montoy vs. State of Kansas, Kansas Policy Institute
• Background documents on Schools for Fair Funding and 2005 Flashback, Kansas Watchdog, Sept 25, 2009.
• Over $2 MILLION of Kansas Tax Dollars Used by Lobbyists and Attorneys to Sue the State of Kansas to Increase Tax Dollars?, Kansas Meadowlark, Feb 13, 2006.