Just as it takes a village to raise a child, Baker shows us that it takes a village—or better yet, a cast of characters and institutions from across a state—to build a decent public education system. Baker helps us see the intersecting factors that have allowed Kansas to survive—where others have fallen victim to—the assault on public education. The lesson is that facts, constitutions, institutions, and of course people all matter—and at different times in different amounts. — Derek W. Black, professor of law, Ernest F. Hollings Chair in Constitutional Law, University of South Carolina

How could Kansas, a deep red state, be the locus for some of the country’s most important school finance litigations, involving dramatic confrontations between the state supreme court and the legislature that have repeatedly upheld students’ rights to adequate funding? Bruce Baker unlocks this mystery in this engrossing book that describes the state’s unique constitutional structure, and the politics and the personalities—often women in key positions—that brought this to fruition. — Michael A. Rebell, professor and executive director, Center on Educational Equity, Teachers College, Columbia University