Senate president Susan Wagle, R-Wichita, heads to the office of House speaker Ray Merrick, R-Stilwell, third from left, after the House recessed until 6 p.m. to further negotiate a tax bill, Monday, June 8, 2015 at the Kansas Statehouse.

TOPEKA ? Top Republicans are hoping the Kansas Legislature can close a projected $160 million state budget deficit quickly this year and avoid the infighting that made last year’s session the state’s longest ever.

Education funding is another looming issue, but leaders of the two chambers’ GOP majorities aren’t sure how far they will get in drafting a new formula for distributing more than $4 billion in state aid to public schools. Key Republicans said late last summer that they would like to enact a new school finance law in 2016, but GOP Gov. Sam Brownback and legislative leaders have said in recent weeks that interest has waned.

Lawmakers also are waiting for the Kansas Supreme Court to rule in an education funding lawsuit brought by four school districts. The justices will decide whether the school finance law enacted last year is fair and then consider whether the state is spending enough money to fulfill its duty under the Kansas Constitution to provide a suitable education to every child.

The Legislature convenes Jan. 11, and its agenda is packed with issues. But top Republicans said in interviews that their goal is to wrap up the year’s legislating in less than the traditionally scheduled 90 days after last year’s session lasted a record 114 days.

“The big issue is going to be balancing the budget, to get us out of here,” House Speaker Ray Merrick, a Stilwell Republican, said in a recent interview.

The state has a projected a shortfall of about $160 million in its $15.8 billion budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1. But legislators faced a much bigger budget gap last year, when Republicans boosted sales and cigarette taxes.

The state has struggled to balance its budget since Republican lawmakers enacted massive personal income tax cuts in 2012 and 2013 at Brownback’s urging, hoping to stimulate the economy. While Democrats and some GOP legislators had last year wanted to revisit some of the reductions, Brownback has ruled out further tax increases this year and Merrick said the projected budget gap represents “a spending problem.”

The Legislature’s work on the budget could be complicated by the Supreme Court’s rulings in the education funding lawsuit.

GOP lawmakers last year junked a per-pupil formula for distributing aid to the state’s 286 local school districts in favor of stable “block grants” that don’t fluctuate with student populations. But passing the new law always was meant to be temporary and it expires in July 2017.

“The school funding formula needs to be addressed,” said House Minority Leader Tom Burroughs, a Kansas City Democrat. “We need to expedite that.”

But many Republicans don’t appear eager to pass another, more permanent school funding law this year. They expect the work to be complex, as lawmakers try to figure out how to focus spending on improving students’ performance while ensuring that poor districts don’t fall behind wealthier ones.

Also, Senate President Susan Wagle, a Wichita Republican, said the Supreme Court’s coming rulings “are a big question for us.”

Senate Majority Leader Terry Bruce, a Nickerson Republican, added: “I’d like to take a stab at it, but other folks are just not ready to do that heavy lifting.”

More Legislature previews

? Kansas Legislature’s leaders want shorter, quieter session (AP)

? Sidebar: Key issues

? Sidebar: Key political matchups

? Lawrence area lawmakers’ expectations low for upcoming Kansas legislative session (by Peter Hancock)

? Kansas lawmakers pin hopes on efficiency study (by Peter Hancock)