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A new report from KASB shows spending on education matters. “The amount of spending (total revenue per pupil, current spending per pupil, and spending on instruction per pupil; in actual dollars, adjusted for inflation, and adjusted for regional cost of living), is a significant predictor of almost all outcome measures, including all NAEP math and reading scores, college readiness tests and high school completion. Higher spending is a significant predictor of outcomes even when adjusted for the percent of low-income students tested (NAEP) or the percentage of students participating in the test (ACT and SAT).” http://www.kasb.org/assets/Research/RREdFunding0914.pdf...

Those who oppose increasing school funding like to compare funding and staffing now to 2005, which is before the Supreme Court ruled Kansas school funding was unconstitutionally low and ordered an increase. Montoy has not been overturned, and Gannon is pending, making comparison to 2005 (as opposed to pre-recession 2009) questionable. KASB’s Mark Tallman explains that even comparing to 2005, funding outpacing inflation is not excessive. “Why do Kansas schools need more money if funding has exceeded inflation? Because employment costs, total enrollment and special needs students and student achievement goals are all increasing more than inflation.” We...

“The underperforming revenue, coupled with previous bad economic news, present short- and long-term challenges for school funding as Gov. Sam Brownback’s income tax cuts reduce one of the major streams of revenue to the state…Currently, the state is looking at a revenue shortfall by July 2016 of $238 million, according to the Kansas Legislative Research Department. “In the world of Kansas government, $238 million is nothing to sneeze at. That is roughly the annual appropriation made by the Legislature to the University of Kansas, or the annual amount of state funds going to the Shawnee-Mission and Blue Valley...