TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Gov. Sam Brownback is making a point of soliciting opinions and ideas from educators, parents and others on school funding.

Brownback had a news conference Wednesday to call for ideas and announce that he’s urging groups and individuals to email their comments or proposals. He also sent a letter to more than 50 school districts and organizations.

Brownback is asking people to submit their comments by Nov. 30.

 

The time for education reform is now. I invite educators to join me in building a new funding system. #ksleg #ksed pic.twitter.com/N1Ac2YPJSN

— Sam Brownback (@govsambrownback) August 31, 2016

 

The Republican governor and the GOP-controlled Legislature expect to write a new school funding formula next year.

A group of Kansas school administrators has been working for months on a plan and unveiled its outlines Wednesday during a forum.

The proposal would strip local school districts of their taxing powers and set a single statewide property tax for schools.

 

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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A group of Kansas school administrators has outlined a school funding plan that is a radical departure from past policy.

The plan outlined Wednesday would do away with a system of allowing districts to raise extra money beyond what the state provides. Instead the state would have a single property tax that, along with state aid, would cover districts’ operating costs.

It was drafted by about 30 administrators and presented during a Kansas Association of School Boards forum. Kansas lawmakers in 2015 junked a per-pupil funding formula in favor of stable block grants for districts.

Under the proposed funding system, local districts would no longer set their own property tax levies for schools. The plan also would return the state to a per-pupil funding system.

The Republican governor was joined at his event by Kansas Education Commissioner Randy Watson and State Board of Education Chairman Jim McNiece.

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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) – Gov. Sam Brownback is preparing to outline his plans for soliciting opinions from Kansas educators about how to rewrite the state’s school funding laws.

Brownback was having a Wednesday afternoon news conference as dozens of local education officials gathered in Topeka for a forum on school funding sponsored by the Kansas Association of School Boards.

The GOP-dominated Legislature’s leaders anticipate writing a new school funding formula next year.

The Kansas Supreme Court plans to hear arguments from attorneys Sept. 21 on whether the state’s $4 billion-plus in annual aid to public schools is adequate. The court is considering a lawsuit filed by four districts in 2010.