Topeka ? The leading Republican contenders for governor engaged in a three-way scrap Tuesday about television advertisements and education policy.

Senate President Dave Kerr criticized Wichita Mayor Bob Knight for an ad characterizing Kerr as part of a “Capitol gang” responsible for the state’s budget problems.

Kerr said he was proud of his legislative service and noted that Knight’s running mate was House Speaker Kent Glasscock

But Kerr faced criticism for his ad that said Shallenburger supported a 92 percent increase in legislative pay as House speaker, describing it as a raise for him and his allies.

Meanwhile, Knight gave more details about his plan to form a task force, led by Glasscock, to study school finance issues.

The flurry of activity came with only a week before the Republican primary, with the race still in doubt. A fourth candidate, Dan Bloom, a businessman and former Eudora school superintendent, also is on the ballot.

“My guess is it’s going to be pretty close,” said Ken Ciboski, an associate professor of political science at Wichita State University.

In its “Capitol gang” ad, Knight’s campaign described Kerr and Shallenburger as “insiders who got us into the financial mess we are in today.”

Kerr said the state’s budget problems were more the result of an economic slump made worse by the Sept. 11.

“We have an obvious reason that Mr. Knight is lashing out so viciously,” Kerr told reporters. “Mr. Knight is being left behind, and he’s frustrated.”

Kerr also noted that Glasscock would be part of the same “Capitol gang” Knight criticized, adding “It’s extraordinarily inconsistent.”

But Knight spokesman Joe Piscotte said Glasscock wasn’t running for governor.

As for Knight slipping, he said: “We’re exactly where we want to be.”

Meanwhile, Shallenburger said Kerr’s bringing up the pay raise issue showed that the Senate president is stuck in third place.

The ad refers to a 1997 proposal to increase the amount of pay and expense money rank-and-file legislators would receive from about $18,600 to about $35,700.

Shallenburger served on a committee of House leaders that put the idea into a bill, then abandoned it in the face of negative publicity.

“My recollection is that all we did was introduce a bill,” Shallenburger said.

State Democratic Chairman Tom Sawyer said it was wrong to imply that Shallenburger acted to help himself and friends. Sawyer was House minority leader at the time.

“It’s a very deceptive ad,” Sawyer said. “It’s not even close to being true.”

Kerr shrugged off the criticism, saying his campaign was only trying to point out an item from Shallenburger’s record.

“We decided that maybe there were a couple of things people would like to know about, since he sails under the banner of being a fiscal conservative,” Kerr said.

Meanwhile, Knight said the task force headed by Glasscock would examine how the state distributes money for public schools, how to increase aid to school districts, setting student performance goals and making sure children enter kindergarten ready to learn.

Kerr said he’s been talking about education for years as a legislator, and Shallenburger dismissed the notion that a task force would be useful.

But Piscotte said Knight has a long record as mayor of using task forces to solve problems.