Topeka ? Seventeen months after pushing for higher taxes to prop up school funding, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius said Wednesday that goal could be accomplished without further burdening taxpayers.

Instead, Sebelius told reporters during a news conference that a Kansas Supreme Court mandate to provide additional money to schools can be met with anticipated growth in state revenues and expanded gambling.

“We can strengthen Kansas schools, and we can do it without new taxes,” Sebelius said.

The court ruling prompted Sebelius to call the Legislature’s first special session in more than 15 years.

The Democratic governor urged legislators to pass a gambling bill during the special session. The Supreme Court ordered legislators to increase school spending by an additional $143 million by July 1. That amount would be in addition to the $142 million legislators approved during the 2005 regular session that ended in May.

But some Republicans, particularly conservatives, have talked of defying the court, arguing it doesn’t have authority under the Kansas Constitution to tell legislators how much money to spend.

State Board of Education members made the same point in a resolution adopted on a 6-4 vote Wednesday.

“Only the Kansas Legislature has the constitutional authority to appropriate funds and levy taxes in order to fund Kansas education,” the resolution said.

But only the board’s conservative majority supported the resolution.

“It doesn’t clarify anything,” said board member Sue Gamble, of Shawnee, explaining why she voted no.

Sebelius told reporters she wouldn’t be offering any specific gambling proposals during the special session. She said there were plenty of proposals, including a bill on the Senate calendar that resembles a package she proposed in 2004 to authorize casinos and slot machines at dog and horse tracks.

In January 2004, Sebelius proposed a three-year, $314 million school funding package, relying on increases in sales and income taxes. The plan was rejected by legislators, some of whom applauded her change of heart Wednesday.

“I’m glad that the governor has figured out that the two years she spent pushing for a tax increase were not well spent,” said Senate Majority Leader Derek Schmidt, R-Independence.

Sebelius said capturing gambling dollars already spent by Kansans at casinos in Missouri and Oklahoma would help the state sustain investments in education and keep schools open this fall.

She questioned whether the state could sustain additional spending without gambling dollars, adding that the worst outcome of the special session would be to appropriate the extra dollars without raising new revenues.

“If we write a check and walk out the door, that’s irresponsible,” she said.

Economists and state officials revised revenue projections Tuesday, predicting the state would collect $172 million more than they had previously anticipated over the next two fiscal years. The state is now expected to raise $4.79 billion for the current fiscal year and $4.94 billion for fiscal 2006.

The extra revenue would cover the amount ordered by the Supreme Court.

House Speaker Doug Mays said Tuesday he didn’t think legislators could pass a gambling bill during the special session, given the magnitude of such a policy decision.

Mays said of the more optimistic revenue forecast, “I think it takes the pressure off to pass a widespread gambling scheme.”

But debate on gambling is inevitable, Schmidt said, if not next week, then next year.

“There is considerable interest in the Republican Party in claiming credit for avoiding a tax increase so far and going forward,” the Senate leader said. “Because of that, there will be serious discussion about recapturing gambling dollars going out of state.”