Chip Taylor

Education

Many argue that education is so important it must be left in the hands of the government.

But maybe it is too important to be left in the hands of the government.

Especially in Kansas:

TOPEKA, Kan. -- Still smarting from a fight over evolution, Kansas schools now face an almost unthinkable possibility: They might not reopen in the fall because of a political and legal battle over education funding.

The Kansas Supreme Court has ordered legislators to provide millions more in aid to schools by July 1. Gov. Kathleen Sebelius has called a special legislative session for June 22 to act on the order.

Some Republicans who control the Legislature want to defy the court, arguing it cannot tell them exactly what to spend on anything. Their tough talk has educators and others worried the court will order schools to remain closed until legislators comply.

Such orders have been issued or threatened in other states, and a Kansas judge even told the state last year that it could not spend a penny on its schools until legislators fixed the funding system, a decision that would have kept classrooms closed -- and 445,000 students at home -- had the Supreme Court not put it on hold.

"It truly does seem to me to be the natural consequence," said Dan Biles, an attorney for the State Board of Education.