NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Mark Tallman with the Kansas Association of School Boards was working in Topeka when the Gannon school finance case started in 2010.
He reminds us that if the Attorney General's request to have that case closed is granted and if some plaintiff, at some future date, feels the legislature doesn't keep up its end of the deal, starting from scratch would take a long time.
"Because the case had been dismissed, all of that had to start at the trial court level and then work its way up to the Supreme Court," Tallman said. "The court actually separated the case between equity funding and adequacy funding. Ultimately, the legislature began acting and started increasing funding in response to Gannon in 2018."
Over 80% of the Kansas legislature turned over between 2010 and 2021, so if that pattern continues and case dismissal happens, it is likely that legislators who are in now will no longer be serving by the time any lawsuits could get decided from cuts, if they made that choice.
Also, Attorney General Kobach is 57 years old and his Solicitor General, Anthony Powell, is 61, so one or both of those lawyers would most likely not be around in their posts eight years from now, either.
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