Damn that Phill Kline ... He is once again stepping out of bounds to counsel conservatives on ways to sidestep the law. And in this case, he's doing it to keep more money from reaching our public schools.
Conservative state school board members used their majority to side with Atty. Gen. Phill Kline on a plan for neutering the Kansas Supreme Court’s threat to freeze funding for public schools.
“We believe it is important to try to do something to keep schools open,” said board Chairman Steve Abrams, of Arkansas City.
Under the plan, the State Board of Education agreed to certify in advance six months’ worth of aid due to the state’s 301 school districts. Historically, the board’s aid requests have been filed monthly with the State Treasurer’s Office.
The plan, in theory, would allow the board to accumulate enough money to fend off for six months the court’s threat to freeze funding for public schools.
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2005/jul/06/board_ed_follows_klines_lead_dodge_court_order/?school_financeThere's also an interesting sidebar with comments from some of our former AGs:
Atty. Gen. Phill Kline’s advice to the State Board of Education on how to sidestep a possible state Supreme Court order was puzzling to some of his predecessors in the attorney general’s office:
• “It’s interesting to me to see that he evidently doesn’t think the court’s opinion carries the weight of law and that it can somehow be circumvented,” said Bob Stephan, who was attorney general from 1979 to 1994. “I’m surprised.”
Stephan, a Republican, predicted the court “would not be too pleased” with Kline’s counseling education officials how to skirt the ruling.
“This whole thing is very upsetting to me,” said the 72-year-old Stephan, who’s still practicing law in Lenexa.
• “Like any lawyer, the attorney general is an officer of the court,” said Curt Schneider, attorney general from 1975 to 1979. “And as an officer of the court, an attorney general should never promote or condone anything to avoid an order of the court.”