If school districts prevail in the Kansas school finance lawsuit, the result could be very costly for Kansas taxpayers.
Kansas Policy Institute has developed some estimates of extra cost to Kansans based on what schools are asking for. It’s a lot of money: over $2 billion per year.
If the state chose to pay for this court-ordered spending through property tax, the mill levy would have to increase to 73 from 20.
If financed through sales tax, the state-wide rate would increase to 9.8 percent from the current rate of 6.3 percent. Many counties, cities, and special taxing districts would continue to add to that rate.
Or if paid for by individual income taxes, rates would need to increase by 54 percent.
In all cases, local property taxes would rise by 14 percent for the local option budget portion of school funding.
Full details are available from KPI at School Lawsuit Could Increase Property Taxes by 55%: Total Aid Per-Pupil Would Exceed $17,000.