Topeka ? The Kansas Supreme Court on Saturday threatened to close the state’s public schools if the Legislature doesn’t comply with its order to increase school funding.

But just hours after the court issued its warning, House Republican leaders adjourned until Wednesday the 11-day-old special legislative session without having produced a school finance plan.

House Speaker Doug Mays, R-Topeka, said the three-day break was necessary because state representatives were tired, contentious and had been chased from their motels by weekend conventions and auto races. Some legislators were forced to sleep in the House gallery.

“When you are so sleep-deprived and worn out, people get emotional,” Mays said.

“It’s difficult to really think straight, so we decided to do the sensible thing: give people a break, let them spend some time with their families and come back Wednesday and get it done,” he said.

But senators, and moderate Republicans and Democrats in the House, criticized Mays’ decision, saying given the Supreme Court’s order, the Legislature should have continued working until it produced a school finance plan it could defend in court.

Rep. Patricia Kilpatrick, R-Overland Park, catches a nap during a House recess Saturday at the Kansas Statehouse in Topeka. Legislators adjourned their special session until Wednesday without approving an education funding bill.

“I think it’s a mistake,” said Senate President Steve Morris, R-Hugoton. “We were close to getting an agreement, and we’re leaving.”

The day’s events were among the most amazing in recent Kansas political history.

Court hearing

After a marathon session that lasted until 3:30 a.m. Saturday, the Legislature returned at 11 a.m. but did nothing.

By 2 p.m., dozens of legislators, staffers, politicos and media gathered in front of the Kansas Judicial Center for the Kansas Supreme Court order, which was delivered and read by court spokesman Ron Keefover.

The order set a hearing for 9 a.m. Friday on whether lawmakers complied with the court’s June 3 order to increase school funding by $143 million because the school finance system was unconstitutionally underfunded.

“Specifically, counsel should demonstrate why this court should not enter an order enjoining the expenditure and distribution of any funds for the operation of Kansas schools,” the court said.

The two-page order signed by Chief Justice Kay McFarland had the effect of throwing gasoline on the fiery political wrangling in the Legislature.

“It’s very clear what the court intends to do,” Atty. Gen. Phill Kline said. “Their show-cause order focuses on one remedy and one remedy only, and that is the closing of schools through the suspension of funds this fall.”

Alan Rupe, the attorney who represented the winning plaintiffs in the school finance lawsuit, said the order should spur the Legislature to get working.

“I intend to show up and argue that as of this moment, the Legislature has not lived up to its constitutional responsibility,” Rupe said.

State Board of Education member Bill Wagnon of Topeka said the court was trying to show that it meant business and that the Legislature must abide by the constitution and fund a suitable education.

“We have got to get a two-by-four to get the attention of this mule and whack him between the eyes,” Wagnon said.

State Rep. Paul Davis, D-Lawrence, said, “Hopefully this will hold the Legislature’s feet to the fire.”

But some legislators said they didn’t believe the court would shut down the schools.

“I’ve never really seen that as a possibility,” state Rep. Barbara Ballard, D-Lawrence, said.

She said the court was informing the Legislature on what the consequences could be if lawmakers failed to obey the court order.

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius said she hoped lawmakers would come up with a solution.

“We need to make school policy in the Statehouse and not in the courthouse, and that’s what this special session is about,” she said in a prepared statement.

Legislative impasse

Meanwhile, by 6:40 p.m., after numerous meetings and negotiations, the House adjourned, and the Senate soon followed. Many House members were happy to be getting a break after a monotonous schedule that produced little, but some believed they were close to reaching a deal.

The deadlock is that conservative Republicans, who believe the state Supreme Court overstepped its authority by ordering a school funding increase, want to advance a constitutional amendment that restricts the judiciary.

The conservatives have linked passage of a $148.5 million increase to schools to House and Senate approval of the amendment, which would be placed on the ballot in a special election in September.

But constitutional amendments require two-thirds approval in the House and Senate, and the conservatives haven’t been able to get any Democrats, and a number of moderate Republicans, to help them.

State Rep. Tom Sloan, R-Lawrence, opposes the amendment.

“Until that group of legislators acknowledges they cannot win the amendment, then securing the votes to adequately fund schools will continue to drag out,” Sloan said.

So far, school finance proposals, coupled with an increase passed earlier in the year, would give the Lawrence school district about a $4.3 million increase in the coming school year.

Moderate Republicans and Democrats also have supported a school funding plan that is not linked to a constitutional amendment. This plan also is endorsed by Sebelius, but Mays blocked consideration of the proposal, and an attempt to overturn the speaker failed.

In its Saturday order, the court seemed to be addressing those who say the court overstepped its authority by describing a potential court order, “which as a traditional judicial remedy therefore clearly respects the separation of powers between the legislative and judicial branches.”

With the Senate having approved a school finance plan, and a constitutional amendment concerning the court, Lawrence senators said they believed they have done what they could so far.

“I feel like we have tried to do our part in regards to responding to the court, and would like to have been able to finish the job,” state Sen. Roger Pine, R-Lawrence, said.

State Sen. Marci Francisco, D-Lawrence, said, “The Senate continues to wait on a funding plan from the House.”

Court bypass

In another development, the Kansas State Board of Education will hold a special meeting at 9 a.m. Tuesday to consider a proposal by Atty. Gen. Kline to have the board accelerate certification of school funds to local school districts in order to bypass a potential order from the court that would stop school funding.

But Wagnon, the Democratic board member from Topeka, said he disagreed with Kline’s approach.

“It sounds awfully irregular to me. It doesn’t sound legal; it sounds like the attorney general is getting some bad legal advice,” he said.

But Kline said the maneuver was necessary.

“The court’s intention is very clear. It is the shutdown of the entire educational K through 12 system in the state of Kansas,” he said.