Candy bars as school funding solution?

Do we determine funding based on our gut feeling that an overall number sounds like a lot of money, or do we look at unmet needs in districts and realize funding needs to be higher? Here’s an interesting look at the issue.

“Jessica Seeliger, a mother of a kindergartener in Wellington, had a novel approach to the school’s fall fundraiser. Instead of just selling the candy bars, perhaps the governor, Hoffman, and 32nd District State Senator Steve Abrams could assist with the fundraiser since she reasoned they were part of the implementation of the current state budget that has created a shortfall in public schools. She sent out three e-mails to the three individuals…

Seeliger, a former news publisher of the Wellington Daily News, was just happy for the three chocolate bar donation by Hoffman. And she was glad for the response. She understands the process that $180,000 will go toward technology, building maintenance, and other capital expenditures. But she still worries it will not be enough to offset losses in the general fund that goes toward teacher salaries, field trips, etc.

When Wellington USD 353 Superintendent Rick Weiss, a known critic of the Brownback administration, saw Hoffman’s e-mail he was quick to respond.

‘By reading Rep. Hoffman’s response, it appears he is getting a big testy on these school finance questions,’ Weiss said. ‘If they would have kept the school finance formula that came into play in 1992 instead of scrapping it, we would have $1 million more in the our General Fund than we have now. That $180,000 doesn’t seem to go as far as the $1 million loss.’…

“’We hope to do good things out of our Capital Outlay budget and have spent around $450,000 out of there on technology upgrades so we are very appreciative of that,’ Weiss said. ‘But had the funding been the same as previous years, we would have many more items already in the budget that we can only dream about now.’

“Wellington USD 353, like 292 other school districts, are facing budget cuts amid revenue shortfalls in the state of Kansas due to the income tax cuts. School districts are facing financial pressures after losing $51 million they expect to receive for the current school year after Gov. Sam Brownback signed a school funding overhaul bill last spring.”

Read more here: http://www.sumnernewscow.com/wellington-eisenhower-chocolate-bar-fundraiser-becomes-state-school-funding-debate/

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