“The prospect that Shawnee Mission, or any school district, will receive the money anticipated from their block grants is dubious, at best. For one thing, some of the school districts that have been challenging the adequacy of education financing in Kansas have filed legal action to stop the block grant change from taking effect. A court ruling in their favor could throw the situation back into flux. “Also, a budget passed by the Kansas Senate already spends more than $600 million than the state anticipates receiving in revenues. Many legislators and analysts expect that gap to grow even...
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Budget cuts in Winfield
“The change is the result of an anticipated $1.5 million blow to the district’s budget for the next fiscal year. School leaders says that’s hundreds of thousands of dollars more compared to past years. “‘We’re at that point where it is going to impact students in the classroom and certainly the teachers that are teaching those kids everyday,’ said Superintendent JK Campbell. “Campbell blames the growing cuts in state aid, declining enrollment and increasing special education costs. “In addition to shutting down Winfield Intermediate, he says programs are on the chopping block, some support staff will be laid...
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Leave a Comment State Board of Education discusses allowing unlicensed teachers
“Alternative certification programs, such as the Transition to Teaching program in Wichita schools, allow people with degrees in certain content areas to teach for up to two years with a provisional license while they complete education coursework. In the meantime, they are paired with a peer mentor and get help from district mentors and university faculty. “’We have a shortage of physicians in western Kansas, but we don’t tell nurses and EMTs that they can practice medicine,’ [KNEA’s Mark] Desetti said. ‘We do tuition forgiveness programs, recruit people, we pay them more to bring them out there. …...
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Leave a Comment KASB analysis of block grant
KASB has provided an analysis of the block grant bill, including tables and charts for individual districts and a fact sheet. This information is helpful for countering “information from some quarters that schools are receiving significant funding increases.” KASB explains, “But remember this important caveat: Even the tight funding envisioned by SB 7 has yet to be approved and is dependent upon the Legislature approving some kind of tax increase when the wrap up session starts April 29. “The new data shows that state operating aid per pupil, adjusted for inflation, will increase less than 2 percent over...
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