Overland Park — Residents in a northeast Kansas school district have filed a federal lawsuit that challenges the constitutionality of the state's formula for funding schools.
The lawsuit was filed Friday in federal court in Kansas City, Kan. It's aimed at stopping the Shawnee Mission School District in Johnson County from closing three schools because of budget problems.
The state's school funding law limits how much residents can raise their local taxes to supplement state funds for their schools.
The Kansas City Star reports that a vote is scheduled for Monday by the district on a proposal to close the three schools. The plaintiffs want the school board to reject the proposal or wait until the lawsuit is resolved.
Comments
notme 3 years ago
The lawsuit is about allowing local parents to fund local schools, NOT about getting money from 'tree's'
It analogous to buying my kid needs shoes. The current school funding system says to buy my kid shoes I must also buy a kid shoes who is a hundred miles away.
I'm not against every kid having shoes, but every parent should be allowed to buy their kid shoes without the government being involved. .
ronwell_dobbs 3 years ago
In the entire realm of moronic analogies, I think your "buying their kid shoes" analogy should win some sort of lifetime achievement award.
wissmo 3 years ago
The current state law prohibits communities from having a choice between poor schools and what "former" nationally ranked school districts like Shawnee used to have.
There used to be many in Kansas.
Seems as though residents of Johnson County wish to do more than papa state government allows.
ummm? Think about this for a second. Think about this remembering we live in the United States of America.
In 2010 a community (county) is not allowed to spend on the education choice of the voting taxpayers.
Ummmm? Health care?
ronwell_dobbs 3 years ago
Ummmm? What the hell does healthcare have to do with this?
Secondly, the current state "law" is actually a ruling by the Kansas Supreme Court that mirrors many other rulings across the nation whereby a State is responsible for the education of its youth (through an interpretation of its inherent police powers). Since it is a duty that the State must perform it is also a duty that that State must perform while ensuring that this education is equally accessible (in terms of quality) to all its citizens. Albeit limiting the amount of property taxes that could be raised by a locality is a very blunt instrument, it prevents one locality's choice of raising property taxes to have the likely overall effect of raising property taxes across the State (perhaps in some sort of mandated fashion by the State) in order to achieve educational quality parity in all State school districts.
wissmo 3 years ago
The state is responsible for the education of Lawrence youth??
The federal push for local school funding being administrated by the state has everything to do with the future of health care. read on.
Local education has nothing to do with federal or state regulations. That is until Washington began dispersing our taxes back to us tangled with rules and regulations.
Good intentioned I may add.
Once upon a time communities funded schools. Most understood the value of education and can be witnessed by all the wonderful old school buildings all over this fine country.
Some communities spent more, like Shawnee MSD. and Lawrence. For those of you too young to remember, there was a time when local communities took great pride in their public schools.
Often it was a time to show off a bit architecturally. Next time on a driving tour take the time and seek out some of the classic old school buildings in our small towns. Always fun. Of course nowadays a community building a school must work within the state law confines. This has led many to feel our new school designs often look like prisons.
What has the federal takeover of what was once a local responsibility done since the 1950s? Another time and place for the pros and cons of modern public education. One thing is clear, costs including waste is through the roof.
Ronwell.....Now Washington wants to take the worlds best health care system and do what it did to education. This is why school funding has everything to do with health care.
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