A day after Governor Sam Brownback says he'll cut nearly $45 million from Kansas schools, universities and colleges, districts are still trying to determine what it could mean for your child's education.
Eyewitness News tried to speak with the governor in Topeka about those cuts but he was out of town for the day, in private meetings with Kansas' tribal leaders. But lawmakers who were at the statehouse said fixing the state's budget and education funding remains a major part of their job this year.
"I think if you go back and look at why it was done to begin with, obviously it's because of a shortage of cash flow," said Rep. Gene Suellentrop, (R) Wichita, who sits on the House Budget Committee.
Most at the statehouse agree there's no way to fix the $700 plus million budget shortfall Kansas is facing without including cuts to education.
But there's disagreement over whether Thursday's announcement is a cut
"What we're calling a cut is a lessening of the increase," said Rep. Steve Brunk, (R) Wichita."Last year, in last year's bill, we authorized $134 million to go into the schools."
But Republicans say due to unexpected increases in property values and enrollment that $134 million ballooned to more than $200 million for schools leading to Thursday's pull back.
"Those funds were, I think, unexpected additional funds by the school districts," said Rep. Suellentrop.
Republican leaders say all but four districts in the state have enough money from local option budget taxes and flex fund balances to cover the 1.5% reduction in base state aid per pupil.
They say Wichita schools have more than $26 million in those two accounts and is only losing $3 million in state aid. USD 259 Superintendent John Allison says the district has only $14 million available.
Education leaders say the money just isn't there, that the budget increase last year, didn't make up for six years worth of cuts.
"We've never brought the level of funding back up to what it was six years ago," said Mark Farr, president of KNEA, Kansas' largest teachers' union. "So I'm going to have to disagree with the governor. This is another cut on top of many other cuts over the last six years."
And this fix only deals with the current shortfall. Some lawmakers say the shortfalls may not be over.
"The first thing we ought to be really worried about is that I'm fearful this is not the last revenue numbers which fall below projections," said Rep. John Carmichael, (D) Wichita.
$44.5 million. It sounds like a pretty big number. 1.5% seems pretty small. Both are accurate when describing the cuts the governor said he'll be making in school, university and college budgets by March 7th unless lawmakers make their own cuts.
"It's going to have an impact on our students across the state," said Farr. "I can see districts cutting summer programs, summer opportunities for our students. It's going to have an impact on our kids across the state."
From teachers like Mark Farr, a high school science teacher from Nickerson as well as president of the state's largest teacher's union, to school districts, they're all saying the budget cuts will hurt students.
"Our members are deeply disappointed in the cuts that our schools continue to receive and the attack on our profession. and the attack on our kids in the classroom," said Farr.
Republican leaders say Thursday's change in funding is just one part of a statewide overhaul of the education system.
"What's taking place in the capital right now is a lot of discussion on K-12 in its entirety," said Rep. Suellentrop. "So there's probably no item in K-12 that's not being looked at right now, in the capital."
Many educators and their supporters say all the changes and proposals add up to one thing.
"And it really is a war on public education in Kansas," said Farr.
"That's an interesting choice of words, talking about a war on education when we're talking about higher standards for students, we're talking about proficiency in the classroom," said Rep. Brunk.
Some school districts are saying the cuts are more than a problem, they're illegal. And they're going back to court to ask for help.
This isn't the first time school districts have taken the state to court. Many lawmakers told me they hope it will be the last one, but for many reasons.
"At some point this has to stop," said Rep. Brunk. "And that's why we're talking about changing this very complicated and dysfunctional school financing formula."
"It doesn't surprise me that local school boards are taking the actions necessary to force the state and the governor to fulfill an obligation under our state's constitution," said Rep. Carmichael.
Whether they support the school districts' efforts to force state lawmakers to provide more money to public education or they think the court cases go too far, lawmakers say it's time for the lawsuits to end.
Some Republicans say schools should accept the amount of money the state gives them.
"As we've always said, it's the legislature's responsibility to balance the budget. They can take as many court cases as they want to the Supreme Court," said Rep. Suellentrop. "But we're the body governing the budget."
Educators say what lawmakers provide for schools isn't always enough to do the job they're charged with, educating Kansas children. And they say that's a violation of the state constitution.
"Our schools are not adequately funded and that would fall right in line with what the Montoy case and the Gannon case have said," said Farr. "Our schools are not adequately funded."
Lawmakers say the cuts made so far to education could get worse. Especially if revenues continue to come in below expectations.
Wichita Public Schools' Superintendent John Allison released the following statement on Wednesday:
This afternoon, Governor Sam Brownback announced cuts to this year's budget due to lower-than-expected sales tax revenue. The budget cut – called an "allotment" – includes a reduction of 1.5 percent ($28.3 million) to K-12 education in Kansas. For the Wichita Public Schools, this is a reduction of $3 million in our current school year budget. The cut will take place in March. At this time, we are still assessing how we will make this cut in our district budget. It is important to note that this allotment is separate from the cuts currently being discussed pertaining to SB71 (impact on capital outlay funds).
Although disappointing, especially coming after careful planning was done prior to budget approval, it is vital that we not let these actions deter us from steadfast focus on our students. Today at the Wichita Chamber's Chairman's Luncheon, I heard over and over again how important an educated workforce is for the future of our community. The work our teachers and staff do every day impacts the future.
The Kansas Department of Education released the following breakdown showing how each district would be affected.
Recommended article: Chomsky: We Are All – Fill in the Blank.
This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service - if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at http://ift.tt/jcXqJW.
http://ift.tt/eA8V8J Kansas Gov. Brownback announced $45M in cuts to Kansas public schools and higher education via top scoring links : news http://ift.tt/16M5sOY
Put the internet to work for you.
No comments:
Post a Comment