JOHN HANNA, AP Political Writer

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Conservative Republicans in the Kansas Legislature were stung by the cost of complying with a state Supreme Court mandate to boost aid to poor school districts.

They insisted upon education policy changes before committing to the spending.

Public school teachers will have less protection from being fired, starting in July. The state soon could be handing out income tax credits to corporations bankrolling private-school scholarships for poor and at-risk children.

Those proposals are part of the Republican-dominated Legislature’s response to the Supreme Court’s decision last month in a 4-year-old lawsuit filed by parents and four school districts. The court said past, recession-driven cuts in aid to poor districts created unconstitutional funding gaps.

The bill for reversing those cuts was $129 million a year, and the plan contains that amount.