To the editor:

When is your child’s first day of school in the fall? You had better write that date in pencil on your calendar, because it’s likely to change. The Kansas Legislature and governor must create a new school funding plan by June 30, or the Kansas Supreme Court will move to shut down the state’s schools. The Legislature’s session is over, you say. Well, actually they met this week. Was school funding on their agenda? Not even! Is the school year in jeopardy? You bet! The court’s deadline is this month, and legislators haven’t even written the first sentence of a school funding plan.

If you haven’t contacted your state representative or senator, you are not helping. If you have contacted them, do it again. For some reason, they need to be repeatedly reminded that schools are important for our children. Students without school and teachers without jobs in Kansas would be a disaster for our state’s citizens who will go without pay and for all of our property values — not to mention our children, who won’t have a place to learn.

The Kansas Supreme Court is the only apolitical branch of government, by design. In this instance, they are the fair and nonpartisan element that is representing the only rational mindset. The court is on the children’s and citizens’ side in this matter, ordering how critical it is that our schools have equitable funding, no matter what locale or how big the district.

Let the schools open on time.