Topeka ? While Democrats and moderate Republicans engineered passage of a $155 million school finance bill in the House, the Senate’s leaders are still searching for a plan that can win approval in their chamber.

The House on Friday approved, 72-52, a bill to 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.

Meanwhile, the Senate voted 25-15 Friday night against a $65 million plan offered by that chamber’s Republican leaders. The plan was funded partly through raising taxes on alcohol. The plan also increased base state aid by $100 and added funds for bilingual and programs for poor and minority students.

Majority Leader Lana Oleen said she and her fellow GOP leaders would try to draft a plan with bipartisan support, but she was not sure it would be ready in time for the chamber’s next debate on school finance, already set for next week.

“We will seek an alternative plan, and I do believe it will be in a higher amount than what we saw here today,” said Oleen, R-Manhattan.

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.

The $155 million House plan passed Friday after Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius helped forge a coalition of 27 Republicans and 45 Democrats.

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.

In other action:

— A bill that would allow Kansans to carry concealed weapons, including at the Statehouse, won Senate approval, 28-12.

— A bill for shoring up the state’s comprehensive transportation program won approval in the Senate, 30-10.

— Senators approved a bill, 37-3, creating a new biosciences industry, but Gov. Kathleen Sebelius criticized a portion restricting research with fetal tissue or stem cells.

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