As revenues stay down, our schools will not be held harmless and our children are collateral damage. “Public schools would have to wait before getting some of the increased aid they were promised last year, and some of that increased aid could actually be cut under bills being considered in the Kansas Legislature.” Read more here: http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2015/jan/29/kansas-house-panel-eases-plan-delay-school-aid-fun/...
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Rep Lunn says no correlation between spending and achievement
Rep. Jerry Lunn of Overland Park said in the Appropriations Committee last week that there is no correlation between school spending and student achievement. This week he said that the state should be able to avoid paying the unexpectedly high supplemental aid for schools. We hope his public school constituents are paying attention. “The governor is sticking by an earlier proposal to cover the extra costs, setting total school aid at $3.7 billion under the current budget, then drop it to $3.6 billion for the next fiscal year. He’s also proposing that lawmakers repeal the existing formula for...
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Leave a Comment SB 71 poses threat to local districts
The hearing for SB 71 has been moved, but the threat remains. “Prompted by the court ruling, the Legislature agreed last session to give schools an additional $130 million in equalization funds, which was supposed to make up for the formula shortfall. But as it turned out, the calculation was underestimated by about $39 million. Senate Bill 71 aims to resolve the issue by rewriting the formula, meaning a permanent cut for most school districts. “Should the bill become law, districts in Johnson County would see a total of $11 million cut from their budgets this year. Shawnee...
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Leave a Comment Senate bill 71 would cut education funds for this year
The Senate Ways and Means Committee has introduced a bill to reduce supplemental general state aid for education effective THIS YEAR. This bill would take away funds already budgeted for current year operations. Any discussion about districts’ cash balances needs to acknowledge that our legislature is willing to do things like this, and our school boards and superintendents know it. Committee members are: Chair Ty Masterson, Vice Chair Jim Denning Ranking Minority Member Laura Kelly, Tom Arpke, Steve Fitzgerald, Marci Francisco, Dan Kerschen, Jeff Melcher, Michael O’Donnell, Larry Powell, Caryn Tyson. Here is a link to a document...
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