Topeka ? Attorneys for two school districts that sued the state over education funding want a special master appointed to oversee legislators’ work on reforming the school finance law if they fail to make major revisions by July.

In documents filed in Shawnee County District Court, lawyers for the Dodge City and Salina districts urged that the state add $1.03 billion to the $2.6 billion currently spent each year for schools. They proposed higher taxes on property, sales and personal income.

If the Legislature adjourns sometime in May without adopting that remedy or something similar, District Judge Terry Bullock should appoint a special master to monitor legislators’ progress on school finance, the districts said.

The districts filed their proposal Monday, the deadline set by the judge for their suggestions on fixing what he concluded in December were constitutional flaws in the school finance law. The state has until April 1 to respond.

Attorney General Phill Kline said Wednesday he would file an appeal with the Kansas Supreme Court on Monday, as allowed under a new law approved by legislators and signed by the governor last week.

Kline said that was the only alternative to getting the case resolved, absent Bullock letting the case move forward. On Friday, Bullock denied the latest request from the State Board of Education, the plaintiffs and Kline to make his ruling final and allow appeal.

Bullock in December issued a preliminary order in the two school districts’ 1999 lawsuit, agreeing that annual state aid to districts is inadequate by perhaps $1 billion and is distributed unfairly. The judge gave the state until July 1 to come up with a remedy.

If the Legislature fails to act by July 1, the districts’ lawyers wrote in their brief, “We propose a special master be appointed immediately.”

The special master would keep Bullock informed of the Legislature’s actions toward satisfying his ruling, the attorneys proposed. A final report would be filed by Dec. 15 assessing the constitutionality of any approved remedies and recommending other changes in the school finance law.

Such a proposal suggests an expectation that the Legislature would be called back for a special session — which Gov. Kathleen Sebelius said Tuesday she was prepared to do to prevent having the courts rewrite the school finance laws.

Sebelius said legislators should heed other states’ experiences with having special masters involved in school finance disputes. In Arkansas, for example, rural schools were closed and hefty tax increases were imposed.

“I think they’ve got a pretty stark reality of what could happen if somebody else makes the road map, and I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Sebelius said.

Sebelius has proposed her own school finance plan, calling for increases in state taxes on sales, property and personal income over three years to raise $304 million for school districts.

The Senate rejected that measure last week, calling it too expensive and a threat to a fragile economic recovery.

Legislators are expected to consider other proposals before they adjourn in May, including only the first year of Sebelius’ plan, at a cost of $137 million.

Meanwhile, a law allowing the state to appeal Bullock’s preliminary order to the Kansas Supreme Court takes effect upon publication in the Kansas Register on Thursday. Kline was expected to file his request for appeal shortly thereafter.

The lawyers for the Salina and Dodge City districts called the new law a tactic intended to buy legislators more time.

“Underlying this reasoning is the simple and unavoidable issue of legislative self-preservation — any tax increase may directly affect the polls come November.”

The plaintiffs included their proposed remedy in the documents filed Monday, the details of which are found in a bill introduced in the Senate.

The remedy calls for a 15 percent increase in income taxes, increasing the state sales tax to 6.3 percent from 5.3 percent and increasing the statewide mill levy on property taxes to 35 mills from 20 mills.

Plaintiffs said the governor’s plan was “modest” but failed to address their concerns over funding for programs aimed at poor and minority students.

“Her proposal would have had the effect of making the disparities worse rather than better,” the attorneys wrote. “Simply put, pouring more money, even large sums, in to a bad formula is bad business.”