TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Latest on the Kansas Legislature’s debate on education funding (all times local):
4:35 p.m.
A Kansas lawmaker has stirred up the debate over education funding with a brief history lesson about school finance and the state’s founding.
Republican Sen. Greg Smith of Overland Park distributed a computer run showing how state aid to school districts would have been distributed under language on public education originally included in the state constitution in 1859.
Voters adopted the current education article as an amendment in 1966.
The original language distributed the state’s funds “in equitable proportion” to the number residents between 5 to 21 years old.
Using the 1859 method, the Wichita school district would lose $21.4 million in aid and the Kansas City, Kansas, district would lose $33 million.
Meanwhile, the Blue Valley and Shawnee Mission districts in Johnson County would gain a total of $67.5 million.
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3 p.m.
While most Kansas lawmakers are arguing over increasing state aid to public schools, one House member would eventually cut it 20 percent.
Republican Rep. John Rubin of Shawnee said Friday that he’ll propose an amendment to the state constitution to limit aid to public schools to 45 percent of the total spending financed with general tax revenues.
Rubin contends that Kansas spends too much on its schools and diverts money from other critical needs such as prisons and social services.
The current spending percentage tops 50 percent. If Rubin’s amendment were in effect now, education funding would be cut more than $700 million for 2016-17.
Rubin plans to pursue his proposal during a special session next week for addressing a recent state Supreme Court order on education funding.
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2 p.m.
Kansas Democrats are proposing a plan that cuts job-creation spending by $13 million to keep public schools open after July 1. The overall $39 million in re-allocations of funds also includes a freeze on virtual school spending by over $7,000.
Democratic Senator Laura Kelly of Topeka said that only $66,000 had been used from the job-creation program last year and that the idle $13 million proposed for school funding won’t kill job opportunities. Replications were immediately critical.
Legislators concede they would be open to a proposal to prevent wealthier school districts from being disproportionately harmed to gain enough Republican votes.
The Supreme Court ruled last month that the state’s education funding system remains unfair to poor school districts and warned schools could be forced to close soon without further fixes.
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The Kansas Senate Judiciary Committee has settled on the language for a proposed amendment to the state constitution to prevent public schools from being closed as a result of education funding lawsuits.
The committee’s vote Friday means it will introduce the measure when lawmakers convene next week for a special session on education funding issues.
The House Judiciary Committee decided not to introduce the same proposal in its chamber.
The proposed amendment is a response to a state Supreme Court order last month warning that schools could remain closed after June 30 if lawmakers didn’t revise the state’s education funding system.
The proposal would prevent both the courts and legislators from closing schools in response to a school funding lawsuit.
An amendment would have to be approved by voters.
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1:40 p.m.
Two Kansas legislative committees have avoided endorsing specific recommendations for attempting to satisfy a recent state Supreme Court ruling on education funding.
The House and Senate Judiciary committees convened a joint meeting Friday to consider potential responses to the court’s ruling last month that the state’s education funding system remains unfair to poor school districts.
But the committees voted separately to forward the testimony they gathered and a summary of their discussions to both chambers’ budget committees when lawmakers convene a special session next week.
Gov. Sam Brownback called the special session to respond to the court’s order. The justices warned that public schools might not reopen after June 30 if lawmakers don’t make changes by then.
Some lawmakers want to boost education funding by $38 million for 2016-17.
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11:10 a.m.
The Kansas Senate Judiciary Committee’s chairman is suggesting that lawmakers divert $25 million in highway funds to aid to poor school districts as part of a plan to comply with a recent state Supreme Court order.
Republican Sen. Jeff King of Independence proposed Friday that lawmakers increase the state’s aid to public schools by $38 million for 2016-17 to help poor districts.
King said lawmakers could divert $25 million set aside for an upgrade of U.S. 69 in southeast Kansas to school aid. Brownback’s administration previously delayed the upgrade but announced recently it would go forward.
The Supreme Court ruled last month that the state’s education funding system remains unfair to poor school districts and warned schools could remain closed after June 30 without further fixes.
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10:50 a.m.
Kansas legislators are grappling with the question of whether they can protect wealthier districts from losing state aid while increasing it to poor districts to satisfy a recent state Supreme Court ruling.
The House and Senate Judiciary committees had a joint meeting Friday to discuss possible education funding fixes and were debating whether any plan should include a “hold harmless” provision to protect wealthier districts from having a piece of their aid redistributed.
But doing so could require legislators to increase state aid overall by $50 million for 2016-17.
The Supreme Court ruled last month that the state’s education funding system remains unfair to poor school districts. The justices warned that schools would be unable to reopen after June 30 if lawmakers didn’t make further changes by then.
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9:55 a.m.
Top Kansas Democrats are preparing to outline a proposal for increasing aid to poor school districts to satisfy a recent state Supreme Court order.
Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley of Topeka and House Minority Leader Tom Burroughs of Kansas City planned to have a Friday news conference at the Statehouse. The ranking Democrats on the Legislature’s standing budget committees also were participating.
The Supreme Court ruled last month that the state’s education funding system remains unfair to poor school districts. The justices warned that schools would be unable to reopen after June 30 if lawmakers didn’t make further changes by then.
Republican Gov. Sam Brownback is pushing a plan to increase education funding by $38 million in 2016-17. School districts in Johnson County are backing a $50 million plan.
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MORRIS COUNTY- A Kansas man died in an accident on Thursday in Morris County.
At 6:52 p.m. minor flooding continues in Ellis with 2 inches of rain reported. Sheriff’s deputies are patrolling the streets. At least 500 residences are without power according to the 
