“‘Everything is still on the table,’ [Silver Lake Superintendent Randy] Matzke said. ‘We’ve formulated a list. But all the low-hanging fruit has been picked. The things on that list will have a negative impact on kids. When you start talking about eliminating teachers or services or sports, that’s when it starts hitting home for people. It will affect every child if the Legislature can’t come to terms with this or fix this.’” Read more here: http://cjonline.com/news/2015-05-10/kansas-school-district-running-out-budget-options-meet-cuts-under-block-grant...
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Wichita area schools cut costs
Is this what we want for our children? Wichita ▪ Drawing from contingency reserves ▪ Eliminating positions through attrition ▪ 10 percent reduction to non-personnel budgets ▪ Exploring mill levy increase and/or special assessment tax for new Southeast High School Andover ▪ Increasing fees (enrollment, pay-to-play, transportation, marching band uniforms) ▪ Eliminated elementary summer reading program ▪ Reduced substitute teacher pay and the number of days substitutes are used for district business ▪ Cut custodial position and district office administrative support position Arkansas City ▪ Reduced some positions by attrition ▪ Left non-critical vacancies unfilled ▪ Reduced travel...
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Leave a Comment Districts bemoan block grants
“Usually by this time of year school districts in Kansas know how much money they’re going to get for next year and they can spend the summer working on a detailed budget. “This is not any year. “The legislature is nowhere near passing a budget and last week a court held a hearing on a lawsuit that may toss out what lawmakers do anyway. “At that hearing Deputy Education Commissioner Dale Dennis, perhaps the leading expert on school finance in Kansas, testified that all school districts will lose some funding under block grants. “This leaves many Kansas districts...
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Leave a Comment Possible reactions to Gannon loom
This article provides some background and some ideas about what the future holds as the Gannon case proceeds. “In 2005, during battles over the last school finance lawsuit, the Kansas Supreme Court threatened to close the state’s schools unless the Legislature appropriated more money, saying it could not allow the state to continue operating an unconstitutional funding system. “Conservative Republicans who led the Kansas House at that time dug in their heels, at first refusing to comply with the court’s order, which they said violated the separation of powers doctrine. “But in 2005, there were enough Democrats and...
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