Senior attorney defends the Kansas school funding formula before the Kansas Supreme Court

Jeff King, senior attorney at Collins & Jones, recently defended the Kansas school funding formula before a special setting of the Kansas Supreme Court. Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt appointed Mr. King as a special assistant attorney general to argue this case, Gannon v. State, on behalf of the State of Kansas. The Gannon litigation, which was filed in 2010 by various Kansas school districts, attacks the constitutionality of the method through which the Kansas Legislature funds K-12 schools. In almost an hour and a half of spirited questioning, Mr. King described the substantial work done by the Kansas Legislature in passing Senate Bill 19, the new K-12 finance plan, and the ways that legislation was specifically tailored to address the Court’s concerns about under-performing Kansas students. In addition to representing the State at this historic oral argument, Mr. King also served as legislative counsel, advising the Kansas Legislature on the Court’s March 2017 Gannon ruling and the Legislature’s efforts that led to passage of Senate Bill 19. Jeff King is an experienced appellate and trial advocate who is the founder and past president of the appellate section of the Kansas Bar Association as well as a former law clerk for then-Chief Justice Deanell Reece Tacha on the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.

http://www.hutchpost.com/2017/07/19/kan-justices-hammer-state-lawyers-with-school-funding-questions/