Kansas legislators beware: Summer Draney and Supriya Ghorpade are angry and headed your way.

These Lawrence eighth-graders said Tuesday they’re among nearly 100 Southwest Junior High School students willing to rally on the Capitol steps to protest what they see as inadequate state funding of public education.

“We don’t think it’s right that education is getting the bum end of the deal,” Draney said.

Ghorpade said a convoy of school buses would carry students to a “March on the Capitol” next Wednesday or Thursday for old-fashioned poster waving and speeches. The focus of their ire is reluctance by the 2002 Legislature to support tax increases that generate money for public school districts.

Insufficient funding from the state may trigger cuts in the Lawrence district’s budget that jeopardize the quality of students’ education, Ghorpade said.

“I like small classes,” she said.

Rally supporters at Southwest issued a call to arms on fliers distributed after classes: “Do you want to protest? Do you want to fight for your rights? Would you go all the way? If the answer is yes to all of those questions, come to the protest in Topeka. Come unite and fight for this cause.”

A sweet touch to the campaign is an after-school bake sale Monday to raise money for rental of bus transportation to and from Topeka, Ghorpade said.

The student protesters will be at the Statehouse during school hours, and if they produce a note from a parent, the students’ time mixing it up with political pros will count as an excused absence.

“This is a serious attempt to change minds,” Draney said.

Eighth-graders at Southwest came up with the idea for a rally during an American history class discussion about the Lawrence school funding crisis. School board members are scrambling to identify as much as $5 million in budget cuts or revenue enhancements.

The possible hit list includes staff working in special education, nursing, counseling, kindergarten, foreign language, music and extracurricular programs. The district is considering a pay-to-ride bus system and pay-to-play sports program.

Students in the group at Southwest represent a broad constituency.

Ghorpade is disturbed that fewer teachers may translate into larger class sizes, while some students in the group are agitated by a proposal to eliminate intramural sports. The idea of dropping junior high school cheerleading has upset some students.

Draney’s cause is personal. She’s upset the district may cut $140,000 that supports the WRAP program (Working to Recognize Alternative Possibilities) at district schools. WRAP staff help counsel students grappling with issues that get in the way of learning.

In Draney’s case, she was depressed because three relatives and her best friend died and her mother suffered a serious illness.

“I’ve been in WRAP,” she said. “My mother had breast cancer. I needed someone to talk to.”

Indeed, Draney is serious about making her voice heard in the Capitol. She’ll let the chips fall where they may.

“I’ve not been involved in a protest or anything before,” she said. “If this doesn’t work, at least we tried.”