Topeka ? A Shawnee County district judge who said the state needed to dramatically increase its spending on education and ordered schools to remain closed until legislators complied has been honored by the Kansas Bar Assn.

The association last week gave Judge Terry Bullock its Courageous Attorney Award, created in 2000 to honor attorneys who display “exceptional courage in the face of adversity, thus bringing credit to the legal profession.”

Bullock presided over the trial of a lawsuit filed in 1999 by parents and administrators in the Dodge City and Salina school districts, claiming that the state spent too little on its schools, then distributed the money unfairly.

In a December 2003 order, Bullock agreed and said legislators must provide more money to meet a duty of the Kansas Constitution to provide a suitable education to every child. Bullock didn’t set a figure but said the increase could be $1 billion annually, based on a study commissioned by lawmakers.

When legislators ended their 2004 session without passing a plan, Bullock ordered the state not to spend a penny on its schools until lawmakers fixed the state’s school finance system.

The Kansas Supreme Court blocked that order when it began reviewing the lawsuit.

“Judge Bullock has made the right decision in interpreting the law and the constitution, and we were pleased to give him the award,” said Jeffrey Alderman, the association’s executive director.

Alderman said the association solicited nominations for the award but its board of governors made the final decision. The award is not given every year, only when the association thinks it is merited, he said.

Many legislators, particularly Republicans, have criticized Bullock and his ruling, though some declined to say anything about his award.

“Since I’m not a member of the bar association and never will be,” said House Appropriations Committee Chairman Melvin Neufeld, R-Ingalls, a farmer, “I’ll not comment on their lack of judgment.”