“In the last two weeks, I have had many productive meetings with education stakeholders and legislators, listening to their thoughts, concerns, and suggestions.  I am confident that we can reach an agreement on a solution that ends the school finance litigation and serves the best interests of our children and the state of Kansas.

I applaud the work of the Kansas Senate this week to address the equity fixes required by the Kansas Supreme Court.  I also appreciate the hard work of the House’s K-12 Education Budget Committee.

Last month, I shared with Kansans a framework for responding to the school finance ruling:

1. We must keep our schools open.
2. We need a definitive solution that ends the school finance lawsuits for good.
3. Increased funding should be accomplished using a phased-in approach that will give schools time to plan and spend most effectively.
4. We need to ensure the investment is sustainable without increasing the tax burden on Kansas families.
5. Lastly, and I think most importantly, we must insist on accountability and improved outcomes.

As I have said before, I will support any effort that meets these objectives, keeps our schools open, and ends the cycle of litigation once and for all.

As legislators go home this evening for Easter weekend, I am calling on the legislature to send a school finance bill to my desk before they leave Topeka again.  Let’s get this done.”