Yes, taxpayer dollars meant to educate students are being used to pay attorneys to sue claiming there are not enough taxpayer dollars to educate students. We don't get it either but apparently it makes sense to the left.
This latest round, known as Gannon has seen over $1.9 million in taxpayer funds redirected from classrooms to a team of lawyers headed up by Rupe to find ways to use the court system to extricate more dollars from Kansas taxpayers.
The fact that taxpayer support for public education has never been higher in the history of the state (even when accounting for inflation) doesn't phase Rupe and his buddies. Facts don't matter, the only part they care about is getting their friends who sit on the court to order spending more of your money so they can take a slice for themselves.
The fact that Rupe views taxpayer dollars as his own personal cash cow was
exemplified in an article written about him from KCUR.
The article describes how Rupe came to hook up with the plaintiff, Luke Gannon, saying "Gannon was looking to sue and Rupe was looking for plaintiffs."
Is it a wonder people make lawyer jokes?
In a recent court hearing on the equity solution approved by the legislature during the 2016 session, Rupe told the Supreme Court they "have the power to order lawmakers to increase aid to poor districts. He said the court could also order the state to cut other spending so that schools get more,"
according to this article from KWCH and the Associated Press.
Translation: Rupe is a lawyer who doesn't care about violating constitutional separation of powers. He's a-ok with the court taking on the legislative role of appropriating dollars--which is a form of taxation without representation--providing he gets a piece of it. To Rupe, it doesn't matter that funding for K-12 education, which makes up the largest portion of the state budget, has increased at a time when almost every other area of state government is being reduced.
Rupe will always claim his crusade is for the kids. But it's apparent that it's all a facade intended to disguise his real motivation: lining his own pockets with your hard-earned dollars.