The Kansas Supreme Court peeled back layers of constitutional complexity Wednesday during oral argument in a school-finance lawsuit challenging adequacy of state funding to public education.
Tentacles of the case range across legal, political, budget and educational ground with victory by plaintiff school districts Wichita, Hutchinson, Dodge City and Kansas City, Kan., requiring an estimated $500 million to $800 million expansion of state aid to K-12 schools. Total funding in the current fiscal year is $4 billion.