? Plaintiffs in an ongoing school finance case asked a three-judge panel in Topeka on Thursday to block implementation of a new school funding plan that Gov. Sam Brownback signed into law Wednesday.

That law repeals the formula established in 1992 that distributes money among the state’s 286 school districts and replaces it for two years with a system of block grants.

The motion in Gannon vs. Kansas, filed around 11 a.m. Thursday, calls that bill “a model of poor lawmaking” an alleges that it is “unconstitutional both in design and in its intended implementation.”

The panel is scheduled to hold a hearing May 7 on an earlier motion by the plaintiffs to reopen one part of the lawsuit alleging that state funding is distributed inequitably.

The motion filed Thursday asks the court to “maintain the status quo and enjoin the State from implanting and enforcing” the new law until the court can take evidence during that May 7 hearing.

That language mirrors the wording of a March 17 order from the panel indicating that it might, either on a motion by one of the parties or the court’s own motion, issue future orders “to preserve the status quo.”

They also ask that, after hearing, the court declare the new law “unconstitutional and permanently enjoin the state from enforcing it.”

Brownback declined to comment directly on the motion and referred questions to Attorney General Derek Schmidt’s office.

“They’re the ones who are handling all the litigation piece of it,” Brownback said following a public appearance at the Statehouse. “I’ve signed the bill and we will move forward with it and we will work through the legal issues, but the attorney general is running point on this.”

Schmidt’s office did not immediately respond to the plaintiffs’ motion.

But Kansas House Minority Leader Tom Burroughs, D-Kansas City, said he was not surprised by that the new law is being challenged.

“Last year the courts ordered the state to adequately fund public education; the Governor’s plan not only fails to comply, but appears intent on sidestepping the ruling altogether,” Burroughs said in a statement released Thursday. “Like most Kansans, I am extremely concerned about the future of our children’s education. Our schools, students and communities deserve better.”

The bill to convert school funding into block grants sped through the Legislature with surprising speed. It was introduced Thursday, March 5 and was subject to only one day of committee hearing in each chamber. It passed the House one week later on a 64-58 vote after leaders held the roll open for two hours in order to gather enough yes votes. The Senate concurred with the House bill the following Monday, March 16, and sent it to Gov. Brownback.

Brownback signed the bill late Wednesday in a private ceremony with GOP legislative leaders present, but no press. Media outlets were notified of the signing by email shortly after 6 p.m. Wednesday.

“Given the hasty and reckless advance of the most drastic and needless changes to school finance in 25 years, it comes as no surprise that the constitutionality of this bill is being challenged in the court system,” Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, D-Topeka, said. “It’s time for the governor and the Republican legislature to get serious about adequately and equitably funding Kansas schools.”

The new law takes effect upon publication in the Kansas Register. As of Thursday morning, the bill had not yet been published online.

Unless the court steps in to block the law, it would immediately change the way money is allocated to school districts for the rest of this fiscal year and each of the next two years.

Some school districts would immediately see increased funding. But others, including the Lawrence district, stand to lose state funding under the new law.

The Kansas State Department of Education estimates Lawrence would lose $1.98 million under the block grant bill compared to what it would receive under the previous formula. That includes $1.66 million in equalization aid for its local option budget, and $319,769 in capital outlay equalization.