The Kansas public schools have won the battle, but not the war.

Not yet.

The infamous lawsuit filed by the public schools over constitutional funding was settled in the district court in December, but the fight for funds isn’t over. The public schools filed the lawsuit against the state government, accusing the legislature of failing to fulfill the requirements set up in Article 6 of the Kansas Constitution. Article 6 clearly states that the state shall provide suitable funds for the educational interests of the state. The case, worth $756 million per year, has recently advanced to the Supreme Court.

Already, roughly half of Kansas’ budget is put toward the K-12 public schools. But assistant principal Patrick Kelly believes the school still needs additional funding. “I’d like to give more opportunities for students who want to go to tutoring after school or extra academic help.” Kelly said, “I wish we had more resources in a number of different areas to help students do their best.

Some, like sophomore Jake Hill, might say that Free State’s $90 textbooks, abundant laptops and Smart Boards in nearly every classroom indicates that the school is not struggling financially.

“I think we have all the basic things we need,” he said.

But then again, he said, there’s always room for improvement.

“I think we need some new weight room equipment,” he said. “It’s kinda dangerous.”

The Kansas constitution clearly states that the government is obligated to provide “suitable” funds to give all students a proper education. The governor and Congress are currently doing legislative battle with the courts to determine which branch gets to decide how much money is “suitable” for a “proper education.”