蜜桃影视

Washington, D.C.

Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer has only been on the job a few weeks 鈥� and he鈥檚 ready to get moving.

But there鈥檚 a longstanding issue in his way: a decades-long tussle between lawmakers and the state Supreme Court over school funding.

Colyer ascended to the top job Jan. 31, when the U.S. Senate approved former Gov. Sam Brownback as ambassador at-large for international religious freedom. Fights over school funding in Kansas , with a flurry of activity in recent years after lawmakers, following Brownback鈥檚 plan to slash taxes, made huge cuts to state spending, including on schools.

The that a new funding system 鈥� which included a tax hike passed by lawmakers over Brownback鈥檚 threatened veto 鈥� wasn鈥檛 enough, nor was it equitable. Justices said the legislature must come up with a new funding system by April 30 so it can be reviewed before next year鈥檚 appropriations go to districts.

鈥淚鈥檝e told the people that I鈥檓 only going to sign something that ends the litigation and doesn鈥檛 force schools to close. I think we can get there. 鈥�It won鈥檛 be easy. And it won鈥檛 be a short solution. We鈥檙e thinking longer-term,鈥� Colyer said Friday.

He spoke to 蜜桃影视 after his appearance at 鈥淩aising the Bar: A Conversation about Education in America,鈥� an event moderated by Axios鈥檚 Mike Allen and presented by 蜜桃影视 and the Walton Family Foundation. Govs. Roy Cooper of North Carolina and John Hickenlooper of Colorado also spoke at the town hall event.

Here鈥檚 Gov. Colyer鈥檚 conversation with Allen:

And here鈥檚 his quick one-on-one chat with 蜜桃影视 backstage at the Washington, D.C. town hall:

Colyer said he believes an equitable system can be reached without a tax increase and that the ongoing litigation is holding back some long-term planning. Legal proceedings will take some time, but 鈥渨e can all move forward in a constructive manner鈥� to improve education if everyone agrees to a final plan, he said.

Colyer, like Cooper and Hickenlooper, also discussed school safety and shootings in the wake of the Valentine鈥檚 Day killing of 17 students and teachers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

The solution will be multi-faceted, Colyer said.

鈥淭here isn鈥檛 just one simple solution. The mental health issues are important,鈥� he told 蜜桃影视. One of his acts as governor was a in Hays, Kansas, a mental health center for K-12 students, he noted.

During his town hall conversation with Allen, Colyer said the Kansas response to school shootings will be led at the local level 鈥� but that President Trump鈥檚 proposal to allow teachers to carry concealed weapons on campus 鈥渕ay be a good solution.鈥�

Andrew Brownstein contributed reporting to this story.

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