Instead of getting an admission that the tax cuts are too aggressive, we’ll get distractions and justifications for cutting spending on public education. Governor Brownback has announced more allotments including a 1.5% cut to K-12 education. He is “calling on the legislature to reform equalization factors in the current school finance formula over the next 30 days to stall the increase of $54 million in Local Option Budget State Aid and Capital Outlay State Aid spending” and claims that by “reforming” the equalization factors, (known as cutting the equalization factors to reduce the amount of funding generated) the legislature should be able to restore the allotment (because the funding will be cut in a different way). He then raises the issue of the recent purchase of a $48,000 piano at a magnet school in KCK, claiming that money should have been used to hire a teacher, although regardless of your opinion of what one should spend on a piano, a one-time purchase of $48,000 does not cover hiring a teacher long-term.

Here’s the announcement: https://governor.ks.gov/media-room/media-releases/2015/02/05/governor-sam-brownback-outlines-additional-budget-actions