Topeka ? A $92 million education plan from House Republicans is drawing fire because school districts would have to increase their property taxes to get much of the money promised.

Among the critics Tuesday was Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who already has seen legislators reject her own three-year, $304 million package relying on increases in sales, property and income taxes.

Though she said during a news conference that she appreciated Republicans proposing an alternative, Sebelius added that the GOP plan’s reliance on up to $63 million in additional property taxes in a single year was difficult to overlook.

“That’s a pretty significant property tax increase for Kansans,” said Sebelius, whose education plan would have phased in a $50 million property tax increase over three years.

The House GOP plan would allow districts to increase funding for programs for disadvantaged students and bilingual education, and create a cost-of-living adjustment to help districts pay competitive salaries in areas with extraordinary costs.

The House Education Committee has a hearing scheduled Thursday, and the entire House could debate the plan next week.

The plan would allow school districts to increase spending on special education programs by $40.5 million, but districts would have to reduce or eliminate a property tax break for home owners to get some of the funds.

Kansas currently exempts the first $2,300 of a residential property’s assessed value from the state’s school levy, saving owners $46 a year. The levy is $20 for every $1,000 of a residential property’s assessed value.

Republicans said the provision will help districts pay for special education, which has been a problem because the federal government has never fully provided the money it promised three decades ago when it mandated the programs. The burden would fall on residential property owners because businesses do not have a similar exemption.

Also, the plan allows 16 school districts, many of them in Johnson County and northeast Kansas, to raise property taxes even more because the cost of living in those districts is higher than in other parts of the state.

Some legislators said it is deceptive to say, as House GOP leaders did, that the plan does not raise state taxes, then force school districts into increasing property taxes to get extra money.

“In one sense, it’s a misrepresentation,” said Sen. John Vratil, R-Leawood. “We ought to be honest with people.”

House Republicans also said their proposal would increase spending on teacher mentoring, bilingual education and programs for children who are at risk of dropping out by about $28.5 million.

Mays said those initiatives would be funded with savings found elsewhere in the state’s $10.2 billion budget, to be identified later, when the House debates the budget.

Sebelius said she intends to visit with Mays and leaders on their plan, as she has with Senate Republicans who are working on their own plan.

Mays said the package was a “stopgap” plan that addresses some of the concerns raised by a Shawnee County judge in a December order that found constitutional flaws in the way Kansas distributes $2.6 billion in state aid to schools.

“I think it’s fairly obvious that the Legislature will not be putting together a long-term formula this year,” Mays said. “We will address that in the next session when the Supreme Court gives us some direction.”

Sebelius said she prefers a long-term solution, adding “We’ve been stopgapping schools for a long while.”

In other action:

— Republican leaders outlined a plan to shore up the state’s comprehensive transportation plan through a mix of bonds, sales tax revenue and federal funds.

— Several senators said they would favor amending a bill allowing Kansans to carry concealed handguns to ban guns in any place where schoolchildren gather.

— Grandparents who are raising their grandchildren could receive financial help from the state under a bill passed by the Senate.

— The House sent the Senate a bill to establish the Horse Thief Reservoir benefit district for what could become the largest lake in southwest Kansas.