At long last, Kansas lawmakers returned to the Statehouse to work on a school funding fix ahead of a looming June 30 deadline. Here’s the news from Topeka (and elsewhere) you may have missed:
School funding plan makes fast progress in Kansas Statehouse
A proposal to cut general state aid to all school districts by .5 percent and then redistribute the funds made quick headway through both House and Senate committees.
“Quite frankly, I see this as the only viable option,” said Republican Sen. Ty Masterson.
Related: 3 terms you need to know to follow the Kansas special school funding session
Local lawmakers talk school funding ahead of special session
KMUW news director Aileen Leblanc spoke to Democratic Rep. Jim Ward and Republican Rep. Chuck Weber, both of Wichita, about what to expect from the special session over school funding.
Sedgwick County Commission tables controversial immigration resolution
Commissioners took up a resolution that, if approved, would have asked the state to withhold in-state tuition to Kansas universities and take away WIC benefits from people in the country without legal documentation. After hours of discussion—during which more than a dozen people spoke out against the resolution—commissioners decided to table the resolution until a future agenda, with just one of the four Republican commissioners saying he wanted to defeat the resolution entirely.
VP of student affairs Eric Sexton resigns from Wichita State
Longtime WSU employee Eric Sexton announced his resignation from the university on Tuesday, just months after he stepped down as athletic director. Provost Tony Vizzini will oversee student affairs while the school holds a nationwide search for a new vice president.
