A new law that gives Kansas lawmakers the first chance to buy closed school buildings has left some districts unable to sell property. Conservative lawmakers who pushed for the law say they plan to craft changes to fix it when they return to Topeka in January. Republican State Senator, Beverly Gossage, says the Panasonic Corporation tried to buy land from the DeSoto School District for the electric vehicle battery plant being built nearby. But the deal fell through because the new law requires districts to wait for a decision from the legislature. She says they don’t want to have situations like that where it makes sense for everybody, but it couldn’t be done because the legislature was not in session.
Lawmakers added the new provision to the School Funding Bill late last session as a response to controversial school closures.
