Topeka ? Under orders from the Kansas Supreme Court to raise an additional $143 million for schools by July 1, many legislators worry the bill will balloon next year if they are to satisfy the court.

The court told legislators to base aid to Kansas’ school districts on the actual costs of providing a suitable education to all students and said the extra money it is requiring immediately is only part of what’s needed. The state might have to increase its annual spending on schools by $850 million or more.

Republican legislators, who hold majorities in both chambers, worry that complying with the court’s decision will force large tax increases.

Senate President Steve Morris said Tuesday the potential future increases are “outrageous.” He and other GOP legislators argue big tax increases will cripple the state’s economy.

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius plans to call a special legislative session for June 22 so legislators can respond to the court decision.

“We need to take a longer view of this,” Senate Majority Leader Derek Schmidt, R-Independence, said Tuesday. “This is not just about the next three weeks.”

Through the courts

The Supreme Court’s ruling came in a lawsuit filed in 1999 by parents and administrators in the Dodge City and Salina school districts, who argued the state spends too little on its schools, then distributes the money unfairly.

In January, the court ruled legislators had failed to meet a duty under the Kansas Constitution to provide a suitable education to all students. Republicans pushed through a plan to increase annual spending on schools by $142 million, or by about 5 percent.

The court said the plan was inadequate and that state aid to school districts must increase by a total of $285 million, or 10 percent, for the next school year, putting state aid at more than $3 billion annually.

The justices based their figure on a study commissioned by legislators in 2001 and conducted by a Denver consulting firm. The state estimated the consultants’ recommendations would increase annual spending by $853 million. The court’s $285 million figure is roughly one-third of that.

Justices said unless legislators provide a valid cost study to counter the 2001 study, it could order them to put the consultants’ full recommendations into effect.

“We basically have ourselves to blame for why we’re in the position we’re in,” said Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, D-Topeka. “We authorized and funded our own study in 2001 that told us the harsh reality we’re in, and we ignored it.”

Hensley, other Democrats and the lawsuit’s plaintiffs contend the consultants’ study reflected more than a decade’s worth of underfunding of Kansas schools.

“That neglect needs to be cured,” said Alan Rupe, the plaintiffs’ lead attorney.

Flawed study?

But Republicans rejected the 2001 study as flawed – perceiving it as reflecting educators’ desire for more money, not actual needs. This year’s plan relied on existing state revenues and tapping the state’s cash reserves, so there would be no tax increase.

The retail sales tax would have to increase to almost 8 percent from the current 5.3 percent to raise $853 million. Individual income taxes would have to rise 41 percent to raise that amount.

“It’ll be an economic dive that we’ll go into if we raise taxes,” said Rep. Frank Miller, R-Independence. “People say we didn’t do our jobs, that we were asleep and we weren’t sensitive. We are. We have to be sensitive about the taxpayers.”

But Rupe said legislators could rely on a mix of tax sources, lessening the impact of any one increase.

“It really doesn’t amount to the hairball that everybody is claiming it’s going to be,” Rupe said. “If the Legislature would take all of the time and energy they’re taking on complaining about the court ruling and focus on a fix, it’s not going to be that difficult.”