By JOHN HANNA

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas Supreme Court that has repeatedly forced state legislators to increase spending on public schools directed tough questions Thursday to an attorney attacking a new funding law as inadequate, with one justice wondering when the protracted legal battle would be “crossing the finish line.”

The court had pointed questions for both the state’s attorney and a lawyer for four school districts suing the state as the justices reviewed the new law, which increases education funding by roughly $90 million a year. But in hearings over the past six years, the justices have directed their toughest questions at the state’s lawyer.

The tone Thursday was different enough that the state’s Republican attorney general was encouraged after watching the arguments.

Comments from two justices who have pushed lawmakers to boost spending suggested that they want to find a way to end the lawsuit and remove the high court from annual school funding debates. The four districts sued the state in 2010, and the court has promised its next ruling before July.

Chief Justice Lawton Nuss pointed to criticism that the court has acted as a “super-Legislature.”

Justice Eric Rosen noted that for most of his 14 years on the court, the state has been in litigation over whether it is spending enough money on schools and distributing it fairly enough to satisfy the Kansas Constitution.

“Is there ever crossing the finish line in these types of cases?” Rosen asked Alan Rupe, the attorney for the school districts. “… Is this just indefinite?”

When Rupe answered, “I don’t think so,” Rosen shot back, “Well, tell me why … Where does this ever end?”

The new school funding law contains Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s plan for addressing a Supreme Court order last year that said education funding still wasn’t sufficient to finance a suitable education for every child, as the state constitution requires. The measure passed the Republican-led Legislature with bipartisan support and was based on recommendations from the GOP-controlled State Board of Education.

State officials hoped the broad support for the new law would persuade the Supreme Court to accept it. State Solicitor General Toby Crouse even suggested that the justices should dismiss the lawsuit.

That led to the sharpest exchange between Crouse and the court, with Justice Dan Biles, a former state school board attorney. The four districts sued after the state backtracked on past funding promises following the Great Recession. Biles said the Legislature “reneged.”

He told Crouse: “I’ve got to tell you, I don’t have a lot of sympathy for the idea of dismissing this lawsuit.”

The Supreme Court has issued six rulings directing lawmakers to increase the state’s spending on public schools in a little more than five years, so that aid to public schools tops $4 billion a year — about $1 billion more than it did for the 2013-14 school year. The court said in its order last year that a 2018 law promising additional funding increases into the future wasn’t sufficient because it hadn’t accounted for inflation.

The four school districts argue that the state botched what was a straightforward math problem of accounting for inflation. They contend it requires increasingly larger amounts of money each year through the 2022-23 school year. Under their calculations, the increase for that year would be about $360 million instead of the roughly $90 million under Kelly’s proposal.

“They’re not reaching the target,” Rupe said.

Four justices repeatedly questioned Crouse about the state’s math, and he repeatedly said officials were following the court’s guidance in its opinion last year. But in questioning Rupe, Rosen suggested that the school districts had adopted a standard of “you know it when you see it” to determine whether funding is adequate.

“I was encouraged by the tone of the court’s interaction with counsel, especially the plaintiffs’ (school districts”) counsel, in this case,” said state Attorney General Derek Schmidt.

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Update 4:15p.m.

MANHATTAN — The Kansas State University Police and Riley County Police Department continue their investigation of shots that were fired around 11 a.m. Thursday at the KSU Foundation Building at Kimball and Denison avenues. There were no injuries and there is no ongoing threat.

According to K-State Police, the situation involved a dispute between individuals that appears to be unrelated to the Manhattan campus. The original contact between them occurred on the east side of Manhattan off campus and continued to the parking lot north of the KSU Foundation Building, where shots were fired. After the shooting, the victim, who is not a student, drove to Riley County Police Department to report the incident.

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Update 1:15p.m.

MANHATTAN —Kansas State University officials have confirmed that shots were fired at a parking lot on campus but that no injuries have been reported and there is “no ongoing threat.”

University spokesman Jeff Morris says the shots were fired around 11 a.m. Thursday in a parking lot north of the Foundation Building, where fundraising efforts are organized. No vehicle damage was reported.

Morris says officers rushed over from the nearby university police station and locked down the building while they investigated. The university initially ordered people in the area to shelter in place.

Morris says authorities haven’t made any arrests and are interviewing witnesses. He said he had no other details about the shooting.

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MANHATTAN —Authorities are investigating a report of possible shots fired at the Foundation Building at Kimball and Dennison in Manhattan, according to a campus alert.

The original alert asked employees to shelter in place.

A short time later, the K-State Police Department reported the Scene was safe and there were no injuries.

They did ask the public to avoid the area to allow officers to investigate the incident.

Just after noon, the foundation staff was allowed resume normal work, according to an updated campus alert.

Just after 12:30p.m., police reported they had cleared the scene, completed a preliminary investigation of the incident and released the scene for normal activity, according to the police twitter account.

Check the Post for more information as it becomes available.

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MANHATTAN —Authorities are investigating a report of possible shots fired at the Foundation Building at Kimball and Dennison in Manhattan, according to a campus alert.

The Scene is safe. No injuries are reported. Authorities asked that the public avoid the area to allow officers to investigate the incident.

Foundation staff are being allowed resume normal work, according to a campus alert.

Authorities released no additional detail late morning Thursday.

Check the Post for more information as it becomes available.

SEDGWICK COUNTY— Law enforcement authorities are investigating alleged sexual assault and have a suspect in custody.

Just before 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, police responded to a sexual assault call at the downtown YMCA, 402 N. Market in Wichita, according to officer Charley Davidson.

Two 16-year-old girls and one 17-year-old girl reported being sexually assaulted by  31-year-old Keith Magoon while in the pool area.  Officers located Magoon inside of the YMCA and he was arrested without incident.

He is being held on requested charges that include on one count of rape, one count of aggravated sexual battery and two counts of sexual battery, according to Davidson.

 Police will present the case to the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office.

GEARY COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are asking the public for help to identify a motorcycle involved in a high-speed chase in Junction City,

The riders and or owners were involved in the chase on Thursday, according to Junction City Police Department’s social media page. The sport motorcycle is black with no markings, no visible license plate, and has a short, low hanging, exhaust pipe.

If you can provide any information that leads to an arrest, you may be eligible for a cash reward.

By the Associated Press

Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes says it’s time to break up the social media behemoth.

He says in a New York Times opinion piece that CEO Mark Zuckerberg has allowed a relentless focus on growth to crush competitors and “sacrifice security and civility for clicks.”

Hughes says Facebook is a monopoly and should be forced to spin off WhatsApp and Instagram. He says future acquisitions should be banned for several years.

Hughes roomed with Zuckerberg at Harvard and left Facebook in 2007 to campaign for Barack Obama.
He says he liquidated his Facebook shares in 2012, the year he became publisher of The New Republic.

Last year, Hughes published a book advocating a universal basic income. In 2017, Forbes put his net worth at more than $400 million.