Another reason why funding levels are so important is that our schools are serving an increasing number of children living in poverty who come to school with additional needs.

“The rising percentage of Kansas children who receive free or reduced-price lunches at school is a genuine trend linked to poverty, not a ploy to boost school funding, the Kansas Association of School Boards said Monday.

“In an eight-page report, the association’s researchers analyzed the increase in Kansas schools of children who qualify for free or reduced lunch based on family incomes.

“Mark Tallman, a lobbyist for the organization, said the report is a response to questions that have surfaced repeatedly in the Legislature and, more recently, at a newly created school efficiency commission. Those questions concern why the percentage is climbing and whether the increase might be linked to schools gaming the system to exploit changes in the state’s school finance formula.

“’There are a lot of reasons that are causing the increase,’ Tallman said, but he added there is no evidence the formula changes are one of them.”

http://cjonline.com/news/2014-08-25/report-schools-not-exploiting-school-finance-formula