(AP)-As schools across Kansas head into summer recess, attorneys representing 54 school districts will be heading to Shawnee County courtroom to challenge the way the state funds public 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.
But declining state revenues caused by the Great Recession starting in 2008 prompted the state to roll back much of that new spending, leading school districts and parents to file a new lawsuit compelling the state to restore funding. The trial begins June 4 and is expected to last most of the month. A decision is almost certain to be appealed to the Kansas Supreme Court.
Attorneys John Robb and Alan Rupe have been involved with litigation challenging the Kansas school finance since the 1990s. Robb said they thought when…