Lawmakers pass school funding bill with error

The five-year Kansas school funding bill passed by state legislators over the weekend contains an error that could be viewed as taking away almost $80 million from schools in the first year of the bill, it was reported.

The Kansas State Department of Education said Senate Bill 423, passed by slim margins in a late-night session on Saturday, April 7, was supposed to provide school districts with $150 million in new funding for the 2018-19 school year and $500 million over the next five years, but because of the error, first-year new funding will increase only about $72 million.

The error was discovered by KSDE officials, who said it affected general state aid to school districts and produced two sets of documents — one detailing what school districts were intended to receive as part of the plan, the other showing with the Legislature approved late Saturday — for public comment.

For more information, log into your Holton Recorder account or subscribe at www.holtonrecorder.net/subscribe-holton-recorder