Topeka ? Wednesday, Senate President Steve Morris tried to extinguish the political fire that has erupted about communications he had with a state Supreme Court justice concerning the pending school finance case.

But several of his fellow Republicans accused him of misrepresenting the facts and abandoning the party.

“It can’t be swept under the rug,” said Sen. Karin Brownlee, R-Olathe.

The battling occurred as lawmakers reconvened for the wrap-up session, and the Senate prepared for a key vote today on a three-year $466 million increase for public schools. The measure would provide a $2.8 million increase in state funds to the Lawrence district next year.

Last week, Justice Lawton Nuss announced that he would remove himself from future proceedings in the school finance lawsuit after it was disclosed that he had discussed the case during a March 1 lunch with Morris, R-Hugoton, and Sen. Pete Brungardt, R-Salina.

Statements by judges on pending cases with interested parties outside the court are prohibited. Nuss said nothing substantial had been discussed, but Chief Justice Kay McFarland has requested an investigation into the incident.

On Wednesday, facing the Senate Republican caucus for the first time since the Nuss incident was reported, Morris handed out a seven-paragraph memo on what he said happened during the lunch at a Carlos O’Kelly’s restaurant in Topeka.

The conversation regarding school finance lasted five minutes, he said.

Nuss had asked how an announced House plan compared with previous cost studies, and said that reports that legislative leaders would seek a bipartisan plan “sounded good,” Morris said. “It is unfortunate some are attempting to blow this situation out of proportion,” the memo said.

“I certainly don’t want this to become more of a distraction than it already is,” Morris said after the caucus had read the memo.

He asked his colleagues to focus on court orders to increase school funding and continue work on legislative measures to cut taxes.

But Sen. Susan Wagle, R-Wichita, said Morris’ description of the conversation with Nuss was “very different” from what Morris had earlier related.

“That’s the way it happened,” Morris replied. Wagle declined to elaborate to reporters.

Sen. Ralph Ostmeyer, R-Grinnell, chided Morris for refusing to vote for a school finance plan proposed by Sen. Jim Barnett, R-Emporia, who is running for governor against incumbent Kathleen Sebelius, a Democrat.

“It concerns me when we’re here to make the governor look better than our own party. Our job ought to be to protect ourselves,” Ostmeyer said.

Sen. Pat Apple, R-Louisburg, voiced support for Morris, saying if he had made a mistake in his conversation with Nuss, “his heart was in the right place.”

Apple said Republicans should let the Commission on Judicial Qualifications conduct its probe of the Nuss incident, and the Legislature should continue with its business.

“I don’t think it does any good to keep churning this up,” he said.

Brownlee said there should be a public legislative investigation, and it should start during the wrap-up session because the Commission on Judicial Qualifications conducts much of its business in secret and is appointed by the Supreme Court.

But Sen. Roger Pine, R-Lawrence, said he wanted lawmakers to work on the major issues before them, such as school finance.

“The rest of us need to focus on what is left that needs to be done,” he said.