Topeka ? Democratic legislative leaders Friday went on the offensive, saying a Republican plan to cut public schools would have a devastating effect.

Standing in the Lyman Elementary School in north Topeka, state Sen. Laura Kelly, D-Topeka, said, “The Legislature is positioning itself to put our school systems in dire situations.”

The Democrats said a plan approved by House Republicans on Thursday would cut schools too deep, and the reductions would be applied unequally, so that poorer and rural districts would take bigger hits.

For example, the cuts amount to a $230 per pupil reduction in the West Solomon district in Norton County, while the cuts average $102 per pupil statewide. That is because the cuts also apply to the extra funds that districts receive for certain conditions, such as poverty and transportation needs.

Some Republicans have said districts could handle the reductions by using their contingency funds, which are usually reserved for emergency repairs.

But the Democrats said 51 of the state’s 295 school districts have little or no contingency funds, including Baldwin City, Eudora and Tonganoxie.

Tonganoxie Supt. Richard Erickson said the district has $34,000 in its contingency fund. Because of expected budget cuts, the district is transferring funds usually used for capital outlay to pay for other things, such as lease purchases.

“We want to make sure our legislators realize that we are going to do all we can, and we hope they will do all they can, to protect programs for kids,” said Erickson.

Democrats said they had proposed several alternatives to reduce the cuts to schools that Republicans ignored. “It seems to me it was almost an intended attack on schools,” Kelly said.

House Republicans, however, countered their budget approach was fairer overall.

It would reduce state spending by $306 million in the current fiscal year. It would cut schools by about $52.7 million, about twice as much as a bi-partisan Senate plan. House and Senate negotiators were meeting Friday to hammer out differences between the two plans.

In an explanation of his vote in support of the House bill, state Rep. Lee Tafanelli, R-Ozawkie, said the bill attempted to balance the priorities of education, social services and public safety during a worsening budget crisis.

“Legislators don’t have any good options — we only have the best of bad options. We don’t want to be in a position where we are putting important programs in pain. However, we can’t deal with this budget problem without dealing with K-12 education because it is more than half of the budget,” he said.