Topeka ? House members regrouped Friday to consider their next move in the school finance debate.

The Select Committee on School Finance began reviewing a $466 million, three-year plan passed a day earlier by the Senate as well as the House’s $633 million, three-year plan passed in March. After a short meeting, the committee scheduled a session today to chart its course.

However, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius said she thinks legislators have two good plans before them and the time is ripe for negotiations to begin on a final product.

“To then have another position might be delaying the process, so I’m hopeful that they’ll look at where the corridor is between what the House has passed and the Senate has passed,” Sebelius said.

The developments came on the third day of the Legislature’s wrap-up session. School finance remains a major obstacle to completing the session, as legislators must deal with a Kansas Supreme Court order issued last year to increase education spending.

Rep. Kathe Decker, chairwoman of the school finance committee, said it was likely the committee would take the Senate package and trim a bit of the spending, then add several policy provisions aimed at tightening accountability in school spending.

“We’re planning to kick the bill out : so it can be debated Monday or Tuesday to keep this thing moving,” said Decker, R-Clay Center.

However, a member of the House coalition that passed that chamber’s plan in March said it was unlikely that the 64 representatives would have a change of heart.

“For many, it has to be somewhere around that level of funding that the House passed,” said Rep. Ward Loyd, R-Garden City. “Personally, I don’t have any problems with the Senate bill.”

Decker said it would be folly to try another large House plan.

“We have members of the Senate who absolutely killed our bill. We really don’t have anything that we can negotiate with them,” Decker said.

Loyd said he expected the House committee to pare back the size of the Senate plan and try to insert policy provisions that he called “restrictive” on the operations of schools. He also was concerned House Republican leaders would decide to go straight to negotiations if another bill fails and not defend the position advanced by the coalition.

The differences between the House and Senate plans are wide, with the House plan spending millions more dollars and giving school districts greater authority to raise local property taxes to supplement their budgets. House members also were more generous in dedicating funds to programs aimed at improving performance by poor and minority students, the crux of the lawsuit compelling increased spending.