“’It’s doing something important, [KPERS is] part of funding, but to say ‘Well, money went up there, so you shouldn’t have to worry about classroom expenses,’ that breaks down,’ says Mark Tallman.

‘He says when you take out things like KPERS, some building funding and certain other spending you can get a better idea of classroom funding. When you add up classroom spending from the state, local taxes and the federal government, many schools are still in a tight spot.

“Tallman says under that measure, total classroom funding in Kansas is up since 2009. It dipped during the recession, but now it has topped the 2009 number. But if you adjust for inflation, classroom funding is down by a big chunk since 2009 — by hundreds of million of dollars.

“‘We think that’s important because districts of course, like everyone, do experience increases in their costs. And that’s why districts continue to talk about funding being down or funding cuts, even though total dollars certainly have increased,’ says Tallman.” http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/kansas-classroom-funding-gone-gov-candidates-use-different-definitions/