The view from southeast Kansas:
“‘We’re dealing with about $700,000 less from the state in terms of real dollars that we can spend, compared to 2008 and 2009 school year,’ said Dr. Glenn Fortmayer, Superintendent USD 247.
“Local school administrators say they have had to cut back on hiring, busses, and other crucial items.
“‘We’ve had to freeze salaries for a couple of years. It makes it hard to recruit and retain. We have a high turnover of personnel, because they can get paid better in other districts,’ said Dr. Fortmayer.
“Despite the cuts to the budget, administrators have tried to protect students from feeling the pinch.
“‘The students, hopefully, they didn’t see it. You know, we really tried to protect them. But the teachers, you know, we put more kids in classrooms, and I think required more from the teachers,’ said Brian Smith, USD 499 Superintendent.
“Administrators say they expected the budget to return funding levels from before the recession, but that has not happened.
“‘We all, as school districts, had no problem, as I said earlier, with the cuts during the recession. But we believed that when times improved, that schools would be funded, and funding would be raised back to original levels. But instead, they chose to make tax cuts, and they believed that would help stimulate the economy. At this point, it hasn’t done that,’ said Smith.”