“The courts have said that we’re supposed to get more money. The legislators are saying they don’t have the money to give,” said Dr. Glenn Fortmayer, USD 247 Superintendent.
Kansas school districts like USD 247 have been experiencing budget cuts for the past six years. However, the next round of cuts may have a major impact on the district.
“They are looking to reorganize how the funding formula is going to be done,” said Dr. Fortmayer.
A Kansas district court recently ruled that public schools are unconstitutionally under funded. To combat this ruling, lawmakers are rewriting the funding formula in hopes of measuring the cost of a good education. The new formula may not include weighted factors that allocate more money to bilingual, and at-risk students in a district.
“I know everybody wants money right now, but we need to educate kids. Kids are our future, and we need to educate our kids. So they need to keep money in our schools,” said [Southeast Elementary Principal Tammie] Hall.
Protecting public education in Kansas through community participation