Kansas Senate strikes down education funding bill

Update: The Kansas Senate voted to strike down an education funding bill Thursday evening. See latest update below.

TOPEKA (KSNT)- The Kansas Senate has voted down an education funding bill. Senators voted 12-26 to vote down the proposal Thursday evening, after a late night at the statehouse.

This comes after the House narrowly passed the bill, earlier in the day. It prevailed by slim margins, lawmakers voting 65-58 to adopt the conference committee report for the proposal.

The bill, SB 387, would have set aside billions of dollars for K-12 schools from fiscal year 2024 through fiscal year 2026.

"It is the transparent and accountable answer in the changes that we've made in the accountability that we have included. and I would ask you to stand with kids," said Representative Kristey Williams, Republican Chair of the House K-12 Education Budget Committee.

Williams argued that the proposal meets constitutional funding requirements for special education, but public education advocates disagree.

"A one-time $77.5 million insertion and some accounting gimmicks does almost nothing to address the $400 million statewide shortfall," Leah Fliter, Kansas Association of School Boards

Fliter said her group is advocating for a phased-in approach over the next four to five years with $70-80 million set aside per year to meet constitutional funding requirements.

Governor Laura Kelly is also siding with public education advocates. She indicated she's not a fan of the proposal, speaking with reporters on Thursday.

"I didn't like the direction it was going in. So, unless they did a U-Turn on a couple of things, I probably won't like it," Kelly said.

To see latest updates on SB 387, click here.