TOPEKA ? An agreement reached among several education groups this week on possible changes to the state’s collective bargaining law for teachers may not be enough to satisfy some Republican lawmakers.

“From what I’ve seen so far, it’s probably heading significantly in the right direction,” said Rep. Marin Kleeb, R-Overland Park, who first suggested last year the groups negotiate among themselves on changes they could accept in the Kansas Professional Negotiations Act. “I can see a lot of the issues that were talked about in the past. But there’s probably still a lot of negotiation to be done.”

Conservative Republicans, who now have commanding majorities in both chambers of the Legislature, have long tried to reduce the power and influence of teachers unions, which they blame in large part for the rising cost of public education.

Last year, lawmakers passed a bill repealing tenure rights for public school teachers, which gave them the right to an administrative due process hearing before they could be summarily dismissed or non-renewed for the following year. And bills were introduced that would greatly limit the number of issues districts are required to negotiate in bargaining on master contracts for teachers.

During the interim between last year’s session and this year’s, a task force established by the Legislature met to study ways schools could be more efficient with their state funds. A majority of that panel voted not to recommend any changes to the collective bargaining law while the education groups were still meeting.

Those groups — representing teachers, school administrators, superintendents and school boards — announced an agreement this week that would call for requiring only a handful of issues to be negotiated, including wages and benefits and hours of work. But it would give each side the right to choose five other topics they want to negotiate. And it would allow for additional items beyond that to be part of the package if both sides agree.

Kleeb met with officials from those groups Thursday. Mark Tallman of the Kansas Association of School Boards said later that Kleeb made no commitment to support that agreement, but did say he would discuss it with other legislators.

Meanwhile, a minority of the school efficiency task force panel, including Kansas Policy Institute President Dave Trabert and Kansas Chamber president Mike O’Neal, among others, issued their own report recommending a bill that would pare the issues that must be negotiated down to just salaries and wages, including wages under supplemental contracts. All other issues would only be included if both sides agree to negotiate them.

A bill based on that minority report is expected to be heard in the House Education Committee next week.