The Kansas Supreme Court heard arguments last week in the state’s school funding lawsuit, Montoy v. State of Kansas.
Two school districts filed the suit in 1999, and Shawnee County District Court Judge Terry L. Bullock ruled in December that the state system of financing public schools was unconstitutional.
In May, Judge Bullock ordered the state to close its schools at the end of the 2003-04 school year instead of continuing with an unconstitutional funding system. (“Kansas Judge Orders State to Shut Schools,” May 19, 2004.) The supreme court voided the ruling later that month.
Rodney J. Bieker, the general counsel for the Kansas Department of Education, said the court could rule as early as Oct. 15. But he predicted that a decision would come in late November or perhaps in December.
