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SATURDAY • MARCH 8 • 2014
KANSAS SUPREME COURT
MORE MONEY FOR SCHOOLS
In long-awaited ruling, justices order some funding increases but send big question back to the lower court By Scott Rothschild and Peter Hancock
srothschild@ljworld.com; phancock@ljworld.com
Topeka — The Kansas Supreme Court handed down a mixed ruling on school finance Friday, setting off a new round of political jousting among Republicans, Democrats and education officials over what the state should do next. The court upheld parts of a lower court decision, agreeing that the Legislature either needs to restore about $129 million a year in certain kinds Mike Yoder/Journal-World Photo of “equalization aid” to help IN A NEWS CONFERENCE, Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback, flanked by legislators and staff — including, at right, Sen. Susan Wagle, poorer school districts pay for capital improvements and R-Wichita, president of the Senate; and Attorney General Derek Schmidt — discusses the Kansas Supreme Court’s much-anticipated fund their local option bud- ruling on school finance Friday at the Statehouse in Topeka. gets, or it needs to find some other way to restore equity in those two programs. Lawrence school district officials said full restoration of Local Option Budget aid By Peter Hancock sidize the Local Oponly a portion of what they are supwould not result in new fundphancock@ljworld.com tion Budgets, or LOBs, posed to receive. ing for the district but would for districts that have The court agreed with a lower court reduce local property taxes The Kansas Supreme Court on Fri- less property wealth ruling that the lack of full funding crein the district by about $1 milday handed down its long-awaited rul- than richer districts. ates unconstitutional inequities among lion. That’s because the dising in the school finance case, Gannon The state currently districts because poorer districts are trict currently levies higher v. Kansas. Here is a summary of the provides only partial less well funded than wealthier ones. taxes than it otherwise would COURTS decision: funding for this pot It gave the Legislature until July 1 to to make up for the reduced of money, so it is disrestore the funding and remanded the state funding. Supplemental general state aid: tributed on a pro-rated basis, meaning But the larger issue in Please see SUMMARY, page 7A This is money the state spends to sub- districts entitled to the money receive the case — whether the
What it means: a summary of Friday’s court ruling
Please see FINANCE, page 7A
Developer says mural wall must come down, offers to relocate or pay to redo By Chad Lawhorn clawhorn@ljworld.com
A wall that is home to a popular downtown Lawrence mural is going to have to come down as part of a project to build a new multistory apartment building at Ninth and New Hampshire streets, ac-
cording to the developer. But the mural, a 2007 piece that honors seven black artists with ties to Kansas, still can be relocated, said Doug Compton, leader of the development group proposing the sevenstory apartment building. In a letter to city commissioners, Compton said he would pro-
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Please see MURAL, page 2A The “Pollinators” mural near Ninth and New Hampshire streets
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vide $20,000 to have the wall split into sections and moved to a new location. If that’s not acceptable, he said he would commission artist Dave Loewenstein, who created the original, to recreate the mural on a portion of the
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Shot put funding
Vol.156/No.67 22 pages
Kansas University Athletics is pulling its financial support for a popular downtown shot put event that has attracted worldclass athetes. Page 3A
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