Wolf among minority to vote against state amendment preventing judges from ruling on school finance

Prairie Village-area Sen. Kay Wolf was among those to vote against a constitutional amendment that the state senate passed 27-13 Wednesday that would bar courts for making rulings impacting how state schools are funded.

The bill call in response to the ruling by a three-judge panel last month, which deemed the legislature had been funding state schools at an unconstitutionally low level. The ruling would require the legislature to raise base aid per pupil from its current $3,838 to $4,492 to meet the constitution’s “suitable education” provision.

The Shawnee Mission School district is publicly opposed to the amendment.

To become law, the amendment would first need to pass the house with a two-thirds majority. Kansas voters would then need to approve it in a statewide referendum to be held by August 2014.