TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Latest on a Kansas Supreme Court ruling on public school funding (all times local):

Several parents say they’re pleased with a Kansas Supreme Court ruling that directs the state to increase spending on its public schools.

Taunia Ross from the Kansas City suburb of Olathe said Thursday that additional state dollars would improve schools and parents would not have to pay as much in fees. She is the mother of four children aged 8 to 22.

Angie Sutton of Ottawa in eastern Kansas said legislators “absolutely” should be spending more on schools. She’s the mother of a 9-year-old and a 12-year-old.

In Wichita, community activist Djuan Wash pointed to the court’s finding that a significant percentage of minority students aren’t proficient in reading and math. Wash says such problems help create a cycle of poverty. Wash is the father of a 9-year-old daughter.

4:20 p.m.

Kansas’ attorney general says a state Supreme Court ruling suggests that lawmakers should concentrate on helping underperforming students by boosting spending on public schools.

Attorney General Derek Schmidt called Thursday for a “bold legislative response” to comply with the court’s order in a lawsuit filed by four school districts against the state in 2010.

The high court said the state’s funding for public schools is not adequate but did not say how much more lawmakers must provide.

In its decision, the court noted that about a quarter of the state’s students aren’t proficient in reading and math with higher percentages for minorities.

Schmidt said such a statement implies that underperforming students should be lawmakers’ main focus in crafting a new school funding formula before the court’s June 30 deadline.

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12:10 p.m.

Attorneys for four Kansas school districts that are suing the state to increase school funding say the state Supreme Court’s new ruling will require a funding boost of at least $800 million per year.

The Kansas Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the state isn’t spending enough money on its schools to provide a suitable education to every child, which the state constitution requires. The justices did not set a specific figure for how much more the state must spend a year.

Attorneys Alan Rupe and John Robb say the ruling suggests that the increase must be sizeable because it affirmed a lower court panel’s findings that spending was inadequate.

Rupe and Robb represent the Dodge City, Hutchinson, Wichita and Kansas City, Kansas, districts. They used the state in 2010.

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11:15 a.m.

The Kansas Supreme Court has ordered the state to increase its spending on public schools, but it didn’t say by how much.  Read the court decision here.

The court ruled Thursday that legislators must enact a new education funding law by the end of June.

The decision comes with the state already facing projected budget shortfalls totaling more than $1 billion through June 2019. Lawmakers are considering rolling back steep income tax cuts championed by Republican Gov. Sam Brownback.

The justices ruled in a lawsuit filed by four school districts in 2010. They argued that legislators were violating the state constitution by failing to finance a suitable education for each of the state’s 458,000 students.

The districts argued for an $800 million increase in the state’s $4.1 billion in annual aid.

 

 

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Supreme Court is preparing to rule on whether the state is spending enough money on its public schools to provide a suitable education for every child.

The court announced that it would issue a decision Thursday morning in a lawsuit filed in 2010 by four school districts. The districts have argued that the nearly $4.1 billion a year the state provides in aid to its 286 school districts about $800 million a year short of what’s necessary.

Previous rulings in the same lawsuit forced legislators and Republican Gov. Sam Brownback to boost aid to poor districts.

The decision comes with the state facing projected budget shortfalls totaling more than $1 billion through June 2019. Lawmakers already are considering rolling back past income tax cuts championed by Brownback.

MANHATTAN – Officials are still working to determine the cause of Thursday morning’s fire in Aggieville.

Just before 4a.m. the Manhattan Fire Department was dispatched to 700 N. Manhattan Avenue previously the Dusty Bookshelf, for a report of a structure fire. 

Upon arrival, crews found a two-story commercial structure with heavy smoke showing from the east end of the building, according to a media release from the Manhattan Fire Department.

 

Crews initiated an interior attack but after multiple attempts were unsuccessful at extinguishing the fire. With conditions worsening, the decision was made to transition to a defensive attack fighting the fire from outside the building. The fire reached a second alarm before it was contained within approximately three hours. A total of 30 firefighters responded on 7 fire apparatus with units still on scene at the time of this release. 

 

No injuries have been reported. One cat was rescued from a neighboring business.

The building was a two-story commercial building that was under a building permit, with the name of the new business being Co-op. The building is considered a total loss. 

The owner is listed as Sherilyn and Roger Bender of Sunrise Beach, Mo. 

 

There is also smoke damage to Varsity Donuts, 704 N. Manhattan, and Thread, 1224 Moro St. Both businesses are currently closed. 

 

The intersection of North Manhattan and Moro is also closed until further notice.

The fire cause is under investigation at this time. The Manhattan Fire Department, Riley County Police Department, Kansas Office of the State Marshal Fire (OSFM), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) will conducting a joint investigation.

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Crews have extinguished a fire that heavily damaged one building and caused smoke damage to two others in the Aggieville bar and shopping district near the Kansas State University campus.

Deputy Manhattan Fire Chief Ryan Almes says the fire was reported around 3:45 a.m. Thursday in a building that had housed a bookstore called the Dusty Bookshelf and was being renovated. Almes says dangerous conditions inside the building forced firefighters to exit the building. He says 30 firefighters then fought the blaze from outside the building before extinguishing it around 8 a.m. No one was hurt.

The fire also caused smoke damage to adjoining businesses that sell doughnuts and T-shirts. A cat was rescued from one of the businesses.

The state fire marshal’s office will help investigate the fire’s cause.

 

MANHATTAN – The Kansas State Fire Marshal’s office is helping investigate the cause of Thursday’s  fire in the Aggieville bar and shopping district near the Kansas State University campus.

The Manhattan Fire Department said in a post early Thursday on its Facebook page that the fire was in a building that had housed a bookstore called the Dusty Bookshelf. The building was vacant and being renovated. .

No information was immediately available about what started the fire.

Riley County police are urging people to avoid the popular area.

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RILEY COUNTY- Crews are working a large, 2 alarm structure fire in 700 Block of Manhattan Street in the Aggieville bar and shopping district just east of the Kansas State University campus in Manhattan, according to a social media report from the Manhattan Fire Department.

The fire was reported just after 4 a.m.

 

 Check the Post for more information as it becomes available.

LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) — A 50-year-old woman accused of killing her estranged husband in Leavenworth, Kansas, will undergo mental competency testing.

The Leavenworth Times reports that a Leavenworth County judge on Wednesday ordered the testing for Barbara Marie Frantz, of Kansas City, Kansas. She’s charged with first-degree murder in the death of 54-year-old Gary Frantz.

Leavenworth police say Gary Frantz was shot several times Jan. 27 on a Leavenworth parking lot. Barbara Frantz was arrested hours later in Burlingame, Kansas.

Police have said the case involved domestic violence but did not offer further details.

The Kansas City Star has reported that Barbara Frantz referred to Gary Frantz as her ex-husband in a Facebook post in December. He listed his marital status on Facebook as separated.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — A third person suspected of being involved in the burglary and beating of a Kansas woman in her home was before a judge Wednesday to hear the charges against him.

Joshua Rund, 39, was arrested in association with the case from May of 2016 but never read the complaint.

He faces charges of aggravated battery, aggravated burglary and aggravated intimidation of a witness or victim.

Police say Michala Cooprider, 20, is actually the one who entered the home and struck the victim, Lacy Lomax, with a flashlight while she was sleeping.

She was hit as many as six times and had to be hospitalized.

The alleged reason for the beating is over Lomax giving information to law enforcement over a burglary case in McPherson County.

Rund, who also entered pleas in three other cases, was sentenced to nearly 22 years in prison, but then granted three-years community corrections.

The case involving the beating of Lomax will now move to a waiver-status docket on March 22.

By MEG WINGERTER

Kansas tax receipts came in about $37 million above estimates in February, chipping away at the state’s budget deficit.

The Kansas Budget Office on Wednesday reported about $331.5 million in tax receipts for the month, which was about 13 percent higher than projected revenue. Tax revenues were up about 9 percent compared to February 2016.

State tax collections have exceeded estimates since November, when the Consensus Revenue Estimating Group lowered its projections for the rest of fiscal year 2017. Collections fell short of estimates for the first four months of the fiscal year.

Secretary of Revenue Sam Williams said he was pleased to see growth in individual income taxes.

“Month-to-month sales tax(es) have increased 2.4 percent,” he said in a statement. He added that was “a hopeful sign that Kansans’ income growth means they have more money to spend.”

Total revenues for February came in around $326.7 million because transfers offset some of the state’s income. Kansas still has a budget gap of roughly $281 million for the current fiscal year that ends June 30.

Rep. Steven Johnson, an Assaria Republican who serves as chairman of the House Taxation Committee, said Wednesday that the additional revenue will make it easier for the House and Senate to agree on a tax plan for next fiscal year.

For example, the chambers could avoid a fight over whether tax increases should be retroactive if the extra revenues help keep the state out of the red until January 2018, he said.

“We still need to make sure we have a tax plan that will drive the revenue that’s needed,” he said.

Last week the Legislature and Gov. Sam Brownback battled over a tax plan that would roll back some income tax cuts adopted in 2012. The House and Senate approved the plan but were unable to come up with enough votes to override the governor’s veto. They are on a midsession break this week but return Monday to resume work on a budget.

While revenues have met the lowered projections, they haven’t come close to the original estimate overall. In November the estimating group cut its projections for the rest of the fiscal year by $346 million. So far, revenues have exceeded the lower estimates by about $68 million, though the state could make up more ground in the remaining four months of the fiscal year.

Tax collections in the current fiscal year have been higher than they were in the previous year in six out of eight months so far. Of the taxes Kansas levies, individual income receipts have been above 2016 more often than other taxes, though they still were prone to significant swings from month to month.

So far, tax revenues are up about $17.6 million compared to the previous fiscal year. The difference amounts to less than 0.5 percent.

Meg Wingerter is a reporter for kcur.org‘s Kansas News Service, a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio and KMUW covering health, education and politics in Kansas. You can reach her on Twitter @MegWingerter. 

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Federal prosecutors say a series of thefts from mailboxes in Wichita began when someone stole a master key to the city’s mailboxes.

Eleven people were indicted Tuesday in a scheme that included the mail thefts, identity theft and bank fraud.

The U.S. Attorney’s office says when a mail truck was robbed in December 2012, the thieves took an arrow key, which is a master key to unlock mailboxes. Prosecutors say the thieves made copies of that key and stole items from mailboxes over four years. They are accused of cashing about 30 checks.

The thieves hit collection boxes, residential mailboxes, mail rooms, churches, businesses and post offices. Prosecutors say they then forged signatures or made counterfeit checks to cash checks and money orders.

Defendants named in the indictment include:

Brandon L. Amend, 30, Wichita, Kan.

Bettye L. Amend, 26, Wichita, Kan.

Cory D. Blanchard, 33

Ashley M. Campbell, 30, Valley Center, Kan.

Jason A. Farner, 33, Leavenworth, Kan.

Keith P. Gipson, 30, Wichita, Kan.

Krista A. Goodwin, 27, Wichita, Kan.

Jason L. West, 31, Wichita, Kan.

Cole P. Kelly, 32, Wichita, Kan.

Shalan D. Hiatt, 37

Jera L. Hammond, 25, Wichita, Kan.

SHAWNEE COUNTY -Law enforcement authorities in Shawnee County are investigating two suspects in connection with vandalism at metro shelters and have made an arrest.

The Topeka Metro Transit Authority reported glass panels in numerous metro shelters were damaged in February, according to a media release from police. The damage is estimated at over $2700.

Two suspects were identified and interviewed. Police arrested Walker Shepherd, 20, and Haley Bradford, 18, both of Topeka.

They face charges for the vandalism.

By Matt Ostrowski

KU Statehouse Wire Service

TOPEKA – The Kansas Senate introduced a bill last month that would affect Kansas Public Employees Retirement System (KPERS) retirees who return to work after retirement.

In short, House Bill 2268 would update some of the exemptions to the existing policy. Currently, for most newly retired individuals under KPERS, the most they can earn in one calendar year is $25,000.

“The purpose of this bill is to simplify things,” said Anne Sawyer, committee assistant to the House Committee on Financial Institutions and Pensions.

What is simplified is the exemptions to who could possibly earn more than $25,000.

Currently, when a retiree hits the $25,000 maximum, they can decide either to stop working for the rest of the year, or to stop receiving KPERS benefits. They also have to be retired from their current position for a minimum of 60 days before taking a new KPERS position.

According to Legislative Research Analyst Reed Holwegner, who specializes in retirement, this bill excludes the following people from facing penalties: those who take emergency vacancies, special education teachers, and those in hard-to-fill positions.

The bill also excludes those who retire at age 62 or older and are re-employed by a participating school district as well as private contractors and third-party employers.

KPERS exists to provide those who work in public service with benefits upon retirement. Those benefits are prefunded, and according to their online projections, the average, long-term return on investments is 7.75 percent. Currently, there are 151,962 active KPERS members. The majority of them, 84,000, are employed by public schools.

The bill has already gone through the Kansas House of Representatives, passing on a vote of 116-9. The Senate has since referred the bill to the Committee on Financial Institutions and Insurance.

Matt Ostrowski is a University of Kansas senior journalism major from Roselle, Illinois.

 

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s first address to Congress is being called a “home run” by many.

Trump said largely what GOP leaders were hoping to hear last night, staying on-message and talking in optimistic tones.

Trump showed America what a strong leader looks like, according to First District Congressman Roger Marshall.  He said Trump’s message was a very optimistic vision of what our country can look like.

“I’m excited that he talked about making our borders more secure, strengthening our military, shoring up our economy and growing our infrastructure. I’m excited that Trump talked about president Eisenhower and how he built the interstates across the country and now it’s our turn to rebuild them,” said Marshall.

“I was also impressed with Trump’s heart and the compassion he indeed has and showed to these people who have lost loved ones. I’m honored to serve with this president.”

Senator Pat Roberts has attended many joint sessions of congress and was pleased with what he heard on Tuesday. “After eight years under the Obama administration, President Trump is working to take our nation in a new direction, united, toward a better economy, a stronger military, and a health care system that actually works.”

Senator Jerry Moran agreed, “With a new congress and administration, we have a real opportunity to make changes in our federal government that will improve the everyday lives of Kansans and Americans. It was good to hear the president’s commitment to establishing an environment for businesses to thrive and hire more Americans. I want Americans to have better jobs and more take home pay.”