Topeka ? On the eve of a court deadline, state officials Monday maneuvered legally and politically around a judge’s order that declared the state school-finance system unconstitutional.

Atty. Gen. Phill Kline, supported by legislative leaders, announced he would not appeal the court order by State District Judge Terry Bullock until July 1 — the date Bullock set for lawmakers and Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to fix inequities in school funding.

Kline said this gave the Legislature time to work on school finance, though he, Senate President Dave Kerr, a Hutchinson Republican, and House Speaker Doug Mays, a Topeka Republican, said the system was constitutional and Bullock’s decision was wrong.

“We are not going to throw in the towel and go along with Judge Bullock’s opinion,” Mays said.

Today is the deadline for parties in the lawsuit to file an appeal of Bullock’s decision. Since the judge issued a preliminary order, any appeal must be approved by Bullock before it could go up the appellate ladder.

With Kline not appealing on behalf of the state, the question became whether the Legislature would be relieved of having to deal with school finance during the legislative session that starts in January.

“Until we get a definitive decision by an appellate court, specifically the Supreme Court, I don’t know if we can ever come to any kind of conclusion,” Mays said. “It makes it very difficult to resolve this before the end of the session.”

But an attorney for the school districts that won the lawsuit before Bullock said the pressure remained on lawmakers to fix the school-funding system.

“The Legislature is no-way, no-how off the hook,” Alan Rupe said. “Judge Bullock has issued an order to fix the system. If they chose to be in contempt, they can choose to do that.”

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Another defendant in the lawsuit — the State Board of Education — had not determined yet whether to ask Bullock for an appeal. Dan Biles, an attorney for the board, said he would decide today.

Bullock ruled that Kansas underfunded education by about $1 billion and the state’s method of disbursing school dollars unconstitutionally shortchanged minority students.

In other related developments, Senate President Kerr said he would probably allow plaintiffs in the lawsuit to present their school-finance plan in legislation that will be considered during the session.

Kerr and Mays also seemed miffed that Sebelius has not talked to them about her school-finance proposals, which she has said she would reveal during her State of the State address on Jan. 12.

Sebelius has hinted that a tax increase for schools may be part of her budget proposal. Kerr said the only way for a tax increase to gain serious consideration was “if the governor gets way out in front” in support of an increase and explains why she campaigned against tax increases during her successful 2002 election.