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For the foreseeable future, investment in Kansas public schools will be limited by an inadequate revenue stream. Any discussion of district reserve funds needs to acknowledge the realistic likelihood of mid-year budget cuts despite the promised “certainty” of the block grant funds. “When lawmakers left Topeka last month, it was with the understanding the state would have $86 million in its cash reserves by the end of June 2016, which marks the end of the fiscal year, if the governor went ahead with $50 million in cuts. “But those estimates have already been lowered less than a month...

“The Wichita school district’s 2015-16 budget will be ‘ultra-conservative,’ superintendent John Allison told school board members Monday. Even so, schools could face midyear reductions or cuts to personnel and programs in coming years if state revenue doesn’t meet projections… “’It’s going to look like there’s a big increase where, in reality, the dollars we have to spend are the same. It’s just how it’s being counted and reported that will be different.’ “Allison and board members again expressed frustration with the state’s recent change to block-grant funding, which essentially freezes districts’ budgets at this year’s levels. “’The bigger...