Schools For Fair Funding, was formed in October 1997.
Adequacy and equity lawsuits were filed in both federal and state
courts in 1999.
The state case, Montoy, went to trial before Judge Terry
Bullock in the fall of 2003.
Trial lasted 8 days producing a 1400 page trial
transcript and 9,600 pages of exhibits. The plaintiffs
presented 19 witnesses and 169 exhibits while the defense
presented 5 witnesses and 102 exhibits.
Judge Bullock found:
"the current school funding scheme stands in blatant
violation of Article 6 of the Kansas Constitution ... in
the following three separate and distinct aspects in that:
It fails to equitably distribute resources
among children equally entitled by the
Constitution to a suitable education or in the
alternative to provide a rational basis premised in
differing costs for any differential;
It fails to provide adequate total resources
to provide all Kansas children with a suitable
education (as that term has been defined by both
this Court and the Legislature itself); and
It dramatically and adversely impacts the
learning and educational performance of the most
vulnerable and/or protected Kansas children."
The Kansas Supreme Court affirmed Judge Bullock and set off a
constitutional crisis between a legislature that refused to do its
constitutional duty and a Supreme Court that insisted on compliance
with the Kansas Constitution.
There are five (5) Supreme Court decisions in the Montoy
saga over a period of only a little more than a year- January 2005
to July 2006
The legislature finally was forced to increase education funding
annually in Kansas by $755.6M. This was over a 20% increase in
annual funding.
Much of the funding increase was targeted to at-risk
kids, who cost more to educate.
The effort took the group to the United States District Court in
Wichita, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver (twice), the
Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, En Banc, the United States
Supreme Court, the Shawnee County District Court, the Butler County
District Court and the Kansas Supreme Court (six times.)
The lobbying effort mounted by the group spanned nine (9) years
and ten (10) legislative sessions, including an historic special
legislative session devoted solely to school finance in 2005.
The effort has been called the most significant court case in
Kansas history.
The SFFF group remains very active in a watchdog role, with
counsel and lobbyists engaged to influence and monitor school
finance issues.
