FAREWELL, KU Jayhawk freshman Andrew Wiggins declares for NBA Draft 1C
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TUESDAY • APRIL 1 • 2014
LEGISLATURE
Committee leader quits amid school dispute Resignation highlights deep divisions within GOP ranks concerning response to court’s ruling By Peter Hancock phancock@ljworld.com
Rhoades
The chairman of the House Appropriations Committee stepped down Monday over disagreements within Republican ranks over a school finance bill aimed at satisfy-
ing a recent Supreme Court ruling. The decision by Rep. Marc Rhoades, R-Newton, to step down came just as the committee opened hearings on a newly revised House education bill that now looks much more like the bill being pushed by Senate Republican leaders.
The bill would restore about $129 million in equalization money for poor districts that had been cut in the wake of the Great Recession. The Supreme Court gave lawmakers until July 1 to address disparities in what’s called “equalization aid” — money the state spends to subsi-
Springtime on campus
dize capital outlay and local option budgets for less wealthy districts. To help pay for that, the bill would make deep cuts in state funding for virtual schools and transportation, as well as funding that Please see SCHOOL, page 2A
REPORT
Kansas lags in many economic categories By Scott Rothschild Twitter: @ljwrothschild
Nick Krug/Journal-World Photo
CAROLINE HELLER, A KANSAS UNIVERSITY FRESHMAN from Overland Park, listens to music on her iPhone at Potter Lake on the KU campus Monday as temperatures reached into the 70s.
Topeka — A report by Gov. Sam Brownback’s Council of Economic Advisors shows that Kansas is lagging in the region and nation in numerous economic categories. Over the past year, Kansas trails the region in categories that cover growth in Brownback population, gross domestic product, personal income, private-industry wage level and private business establishment, the report says. Kansas does have a lower unemployment rate, at 4.9 percent, than the region’s 5.3 Please see REPORT, page 8A
Kansans hurry to meet deadline for health insurance coverage Topeka (ap) — Counselors dealt with a crush of late requests for help from Kansas consumers trying to navigate the federal government’s online health insurance market-
place on Monday, the deadline for signing up for coverage. But the Republican-dominated Legislature still was looking for ways to resist the 4-yearold federal health care over-
day to submit applications for federal government in running coverage through online mar- it. ketplaces. Like many other And HealthCare.gov was GOP-controlled states, Kansas out of service for nearly four refused to set up its own marPlease see DEADLINE, page 2A ketplace or to partner with the
INSIDE
Sunny, cooler Business Classified Comics Deaths
High: 53
haul championed by Democratic President Barack Obama. The law requires most Americans to have health insurance coverage or pay a tax penalty, and consumers had until Mon-
Low: 41
Today’s forecast, page 10A
2A 5C-8C 4B 2A
Events listings Horoscope Opinion Puzzles
6A, 2C Sports 3B Television 9A WellCommons 3B
1C-4C 10A, 2C 1B-2B
Amyx to become mayor The Lawrence City Commission is set to elect Mike Amyx mayor tonight. Learn what he expects the key issues to be during his tenure. Page 3A
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Vol.156/No.90 22 pages