“Crafted out of sight. Unveiled to allow Kansas’ 286 school districts just part of one workday and a weekend to try to understand its potential impact before hearings began.
“Handled by the money committees rather than the education panels in each chamber. Hurriedly approved by the House Appropriations Committee, which valued the endorsements of a very few anti-tax special-interest groups over the outcry of hundreds of people who actually spend time in Kansas schools.
“Engineered so that it could only be amended and fully debated in one chamber and have an up-or-down vote in the other. Altered to help two southeast Kansas districts, ignoring that Wichita and many other districts will see major funding reductions under the bill…
Immediately read into the Senate record, preventing any remorseful representatives from offering a motion Monday to reconsider the House vote. And finally eased through the Senate, where it could only be the subject of questions rather than amendments – and where opponents were denounced as liars…
“Plus, it’s unfunded, meaning for all the proponents’ talk of ‘certainty,’ the plan’s promises from now through June 2017 are subject to change if the state’s revenue picture remains disastrous. Though there are benefits for some districts, including flexibility in how money is spent, the bill newly lets the state off the hook for districts’ changing funding needs, such as for enrollment, demographics or transportation.
“Why so much haste, and such disdain for the feedback from school boards, administrators, teachers and parents? …
“The whole hurried process inspires no confidence in state leaders’ ability or intention to write a fair, adequate school-finance formula over the next two years. Unfortunately, one of the certainties of the block-grant bill is that Brownback will sign it.”
Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/opinion/editorials/article15171908.html