Topeka ? Legislators have plenty of work ahead of them when they return to the Kansas Statehouse next Wednesday, some chores they must do and others they would like to accomplish.

Leaders of the House and Senate budget committees return to Topeka on Tuesday to begin negotiating a final draft of the 2012 budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1. It calls for spending some $14 billion in the next year, including about $6 billion in state tax revenues.

The budget must be finished before the 2011 session ends, but Republican Gov. Sam Brownback has also asked legislators to begin looking at defining what constitutes a suitable education.

The goal is to clarify just what is required of the state and its 289 districts and prevent further legal fights.