Topeka ? Although she said additional funding could help, a top Kansas official testified Wednesday that money alone could not solve the state’s education problems.

Alexa Pochowski, assistant commissioner for learning services with the state Department of Education, said no single strategy would improve student performance as defined by state standards or the 2001 federal No Child Left Behind laws.

She testified during the third day of a Shawnee County District Court trial of a lawsuit challenging the legality of the state’s school finance system. The trial is expected to last two weeks.

“I’ve never said money in and of itself makes a difference,” Pochowski said.

Attorneys for parents and administrators in the Dodge City and Salina school districts are trying to convince Judge Terry Bullock that the state neither spends enough money on its schools, nor fairly distributes the $2.6 billion it provides.

Pochowski spent most of the afternoon answering questions from Dan Biles, attorney for the State Board of Education, a defendant in the case. She testified that Kansas had high academic standards, compared with other states.

“I’d be happy to take the Missouri test. I believe our kids would do extremely well,” Pochowski said.

However, Kansas isn’t perfect, she said, and success stories statewide show educators have adopted a “relentless focus” on improving student performance.

“There are other factors that do play into it,” Pochowski said.

One example was Dodge City. Alan Cunningham, the district’s director of curriculum and instruction, said the school district has created after-school and summer programs that help the worst 10 percent of its students.

The district is predominantly Hispanic, with a high population of students who are English language learners. Cunningham said approximately 2,800 students speak Spanish and English, though only three dozen teachers spoke both languages. About 30 percent of the students are migratory.

“That’s a fairly unique situation,” Cunningham said.

Also Wednesday, Hays Supt. Fred Kaufman testified for a second day.

During cross-examination, Kenneth Weltz, an attorney for the state, said Hays students had performed better on state reading and math tests since 2000.

For example, fourth-graders at the district’s Washington Elementary — where 85 percent of the students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches — went from being 75 percent proficient in math to 100 percent.

Weltz attempted to undercut the plaintiffs’ argument that the state was keeping students from learning properly by underfinancing schools.

Weltz told Kaufman: “You’ve made remarkable progress in Hays.”

Kaufman said, “We know how to do it.”

Weltz said, “And you did.”

Kaufman said, “What scares me to death is we don’t have the funding to keep doing it.”

State Board of Education member Carol Rupe testified that the 10-member board developed performance goals before it hired consultants to determine the cost of a suitable education. Last year, the board tied its goals to a proposal for increasing annual spending on public schools by $1 billion.

“That’s what we needed to sell it to the Legislature,” Rupe said.

However, despite the goals, legislators never considered the board’s proposal seriously.