by: The Associated Press

Posted: Jun 14, 2019 / 09:35 AM CDT / Updated: Jun 14, 2019 / 12:32 PM CDT

TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNW) – The Kansas Supreme Court has approved an increase in spending on public schools that the Democratic governor pushed through the Republican-controlled Legislature.

But the high court declined in its ruling Friday to close the protracted education funding lawsuit that prompted the decision.

The school finance law boosted funding roughly $90 million a year.

The court declared the new money is sufficient under the Kansas Constitution but said it was keeping the underlying lawsuit open to ensure that the state keeps its funding promises.

Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly had hoped the Supreme Court would end the lawsuit. Four local school districts sued in 2010.

The districts’ attorneys argued the new law would not provide enough new money after the 2019-20 school year. Education funding tops $4 billion a year.