Don’t blame the messenger.

Lawrence School Supt. Randy Weseman reportedly is under attack by state officials who are supporting the school finance plan proposed by Gov. Kathleen Sebelius because Weseman publicly pointed out a major flaw in the plan. What he said was correct, but apparently some education lobbyists and others didn’t like the way he said it.

To them we respond, “Too bad.”

Part of the school finance plan presented by the governor in her State of the State message was a change in the way the state distributed special education funds. Rather than giving districts funds based on how many special education students they have, those funds would be based on the total enrollment in the districts.

Obviously, districts with a larger percentage of special education students would lose under this plan. The Lawrence district is one of those districts, so Weseman spoke up and pointed out the problem. His revelation brought unflattering attention to the governor’s plan and brought criticism raining down on Weseman.

Education lobbyists and other proponents said Weseman was undercutting the governor’s plan rather than dutifully lining up to support any measure that increased school funding. If he had any problems with the plan, they said, he should have expressed them privately to the governor’s staff, not made them public.

A little history might be useful. The first year or two Weseman was superintendent of the Lawrence district, he spent a lot of time in Topeka trying to influence public policy in favor of the state’s public schools. It turned out to be wasted effort as public school funding was frozen, then reduced. He, like many other school superintendents across the state, decided he had to turn his attention inward to do what he could for his own district. That’s his job. In these difficult financial times, Weseman wouldn’t be doing his job if he didn’t point out a problem, like the special education funding, that would severely hurt the Lawrence district.

Rather than blame the messenger, perhaps the governor and the groups supporting her plan also should turn their attention inward. If the governor and her staff had done their homework on the school finance plan, they would have been well aware of the negative financial impact the special education provision would have on some districts and be prepared to defend that. The fact that the governor so quickly expressed a willingness to drop the provision from her plan — an action she finalized Tuesday — is an indication that she wasn’t aware of its effect and has no real grounds on which to defend it.

That’s not Randy Weseman’s fault.

Groups that reportedly include the Kansas National Education Assn. and the Kansas State Board of Education are criticizing Weseman for causing trouble for the governor’s plan. On the contrary, it was the plan itself that was flawed. If the governor’s school finance plan now lacks credibility, the fault lies with a lack of due diligence on the part of Sebelius and her staff, not with any statements made by Weseman.

The decline in state funding for public schools has put local school districts and superintendents in a position where they no longer can afford to stay silent or “work through the system.” Weseman and other superintendents willing to speak up have a lot to contribute to the formulation of school finance policy and shouldn’t be chastised for making their concerns public.