Topeka ? House Democrats and moderate Republicans combined forces Friday to pass a bill raising sales and income taxes to fund a $155 million package for public schools.

Sent to the Senate on a 72-52 vote, the bill would raise base state aid per pupil by $100, to a total $3,963, while adding funds for bilingual education, programs for poor and minority students and districts’ special education expenses.

In the Senate, meanwhile, members tentatively approved a proposal to increase aid to school districts by $65 million, partly through higher liquor taxes. However, it wasn’t clear whether the measure would pass on final action because of opposition to raising taxes on alcohol.

Still another measure was in the mix — a plan drafted by House Republican leaders giving school districts a one-year increase of $28 million for targeted programs plus authority for 16 well-to-do districts to raise local property taxes. That bill was approved by the House on Thursday and went to the Senate.

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius had helped forge the coalition of 27 Republicans and 45 Democrats who passed the larger House bill on Friday.

Sebelius — whose own three-year, $304 million school finance plan has been rejected by legislators — called the House action progress.

“A large number of Republicans and Democrats really worked together to put together a coalition to make some significant advancements in education for a year,” the Democratic governor said at a news conference.

The $155 million proposal, drafted by Rep. Bill Kassebaum, R-Burdick, would raise the state’s 5.3 percent sales tax to 5.5 percent and place a 4.5 percent surcharge on individual income taxes.

In addition, the bill includes language, sought by Johnson County legislators, allowing local school boards to increase property taxes by up to $120 million with voter approval.

Rep. Melvin Neufeld, R-Ingalls and chairman of the Appropriations Committee, questioned the fairness of legislation to help only schools. He said legislators could be forced to trim spending on other programs to balance the state budget, even if they passed the bill and gave schools more money.

Other Republicans said raising taxes would put stress on the economy.

No statewide tax increase would be required under the smaller school finance measure that won House approval Thursday.

That bill would send districts an additional $28 million of existing revenue for bilingual education, teacher mentoring and programs for children at risk of dropping out. It would also let 16 districts with a high cost of living increase their property taxes by a collective $23.5 million.

House Speaker Doug Mays, R-Topeka, who helped write that bill, said House passage of two measures gave negotiators options to consider in drafting a final proposal.

Mays opposes tax increases but said he was encouraged that the Kassebaum bill addresses concerns outlined by courts and attempts to spell out what constitutes a “suitable” education.

The bill would require all districts to offer instruction in 17 subjects, including reading, writing, math, history, science and computer technology.

Shawnee County District Judge Terry Bullock issued a preliminary order in December saying the state’s school finance system was unconstitutional and that Kansas needed to spend more than the current $2.6 billion per year on schools. The state has appealed the order to the Kansas Supreme Court.

“There are main points in Judge Bullock’s order that can’t be ignored,” Mays said.

School finance are Senate Substitute for HB 2004, HB 2937 and HB 2940.

On the Net:

Kansas Legislature: http://www.kslegislature.org

Governor’s Office: http://www.ksgovernor.org

Kansas State Department of Education: http://www.ksbe.state.ks.us