Topeka ? The Kansas Legislature failed to resolve major issues – school finance, business tax cuts and increased punishments for sex offenders – before the week ended Friday.

Senate President Derek Schmidt, R-Independence, said he had hoped to see “light at the end of the tunnel,” but added, “We are, however, still in the dark.”

But some legislative leaders predicted they would conclude the 2006 session early next week.

Negotiators on school finance drafted a new three-year, $500 million proposal after the House and Senate rejected each other’s plans.

“We’re getting very close to the end of the session,” said House Speaker Doug Mays, R-Topeka.

The major sticking point was funding public schools.

The Legislature was in its eighth day of the wrap-up session and under order from the Kansas Supreme Court to increase school funding.

Last year, the court accepted a $290 million increase for schools and said a cost study should guide lawmakers in making further increases.

The Legislative Division of Post Audit said $400 million more was needed for schools. That report morphed into several proposals before the Legislature.

Those include a House-approved plan that would increase school funding by $558 million during a three-year span, and a Senate-approved plan of $466 million.

But on Friday, the House plan failed in the Senate, 9-31. The Senate plan failed in the House, 12-106.

Then the House-Senate conference committee produced a $500 million proposal, drafted by Senate Democratic Leader Anthony Hensley of Topeka, that would increase funding to the Lawrence school district next year by $2.8 million.

All of the plans also include an additional $75 million in teacher pension contributions.

When lawmakers return Monday, they will have the $500 million plan teed up for consideration.

One major hurdle seemed to be cleared in the session when lawmakers separated a private prison plan from a bill to increase prison time for sex offenders.

Schmidt had backed off combining the two bills and on Monday the Legislature will vote on the increased punishments, which has widespread support, and then separately a measure that would allow either the construction of a private prison or the issuing of bonds for a state-operated facility.

The Legislature neared resolution on a number of other major issues, including approval of restrictions on governmental condemnation powers.

House-Senate conference committees were negotiating differences in legislation to remove the property tax on business machinery and equipment, and continuing to discuss the final budget bill.

“We simply have to narrow the scope of the session,” Schmidt said.

Lawmakers completed their 88th work day and had only two days remaining in the traditional 90 working days of a session, although they are allowed to use more days.