ShawneeDispatch.com

Although she hopes the Senate will go along with a House bill that pumps additional money into schools, Rep. Stephanie Sharp, R-Shawnee, is concerned that senators don't feel the same immediacy as House members.

Sharp discussed the House plan that would have pumped an additional $633 million into schools Friday with members of the Shawnee Rotary Club. The plan, developed by a coalition of moderate Republicans and Democrats, passed the House in the waning hours of the regular session, but was not approved by the Senate. Senators debated three plans in the last hours but couldn't agree on any of them.

House members were especially anxious to craft a plan, Sharp, said, because all 125 members face re-election in the fall and most are concerned about voters' reactions if the Legislature fails to satisfy the Kansas Supreme Court's order to adequately fund Kansas schools.

But only half the members of the Senate face re-election.

"It was a really hard-fought battle, and I'm really hopeful the Senate will come along," Sharp said.

Still, she added, "The Senate doesn't have the same motivation that we do."

Contrary to published reports, the House plan does not include property tax increases, Sharp said. "No tax increases are anticipated," she said.

And, she said, the plan will satisfy the court if Senators sign on when they return to Topeka April 26 for the veto session.

"Our three-year plan brings everyone up to ‘suitable,'" Sharp said, in a reference to the Supreme Court order.

"This bill does a lot for Johnson County," she said.

The plan will also remove the cap on local educational spending, long a Johnson County priority.

Sharp defended removal of the cap as a necessity for Johnson County, largely because of the imbalance between the amount of taxes the county sends to Topeka and the amount it receives in state funding and services.

"For every $6 we send to the state, we get about a dollar back," Sharp said.

"We're never going to break even," she said.

"The only way Johnson County can get that money back is with local control."

Sharp also discussed a few of the other issues that came before the Legislature this year, including the concealed-carry bill that survived a veto by Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.

"My district comes back 75 percent opposed and 25 percent in favor, so I felt fairly confident in voting against it," Sharp said.

She also said she expects the House to try again to remove pre-existing conditions from workers compensation coverage. The measure passed this session but Sebelius vetoed it, and House members didn't think they had enough votes to override.