TOPEKA ? Gov. Kathleen Sebelius today signed into law the $148.4 million school funding increase that was approved during a special legislative session and OK’d by the Kansas Supreme Court.

“Children will have better schools in every community and a doorway to better and more productive lives in the future, and our economy will benefit from a well-educated workforce,” Sebelius said.

Sebelius signed the bill at a high school in Wichita and dated it at an event at Meadows Elementary in Topeka.

Surrounded by legislators, teachers, administrators, parents and children, Sebelius said the school finance legislation “is really about the future of Kansas.”

In addition to an earlier appropriation, schools will receive approximately $290 million in additional funding for the coming school year in a $3 billion system.

The Lawrence school district is expected to receive an estimated $5 million increase in state aid.

Earlier this month, the Legislature approved the $148.4 million increase after the Kansas Supreme Court ordered a funding increase.

The court had earlier ruled the school finance system was unconstitutional because it was under-funded and the funds were unfairly distributed. The court has said the new funding increases are an interim step before lawmakers receive a study later this year on the actual costs of education.

Sebelius reiterated her call for expanded casino gambling to provide revenues to help pay for possible future increases in school funding.