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February 14, 2003

KNEA presents school needs to PTA, House Ed Budget Committee

While the House Education Committee discussed proposals to simplify school district budget reports, KNEA lobbyist Mark Desetti appeared with Mark Tallman of KASB, Dianne Gjerstad of USD 259, and Senator John Vratil at the state PTA Legislative Conference. Desetti spoke of increased demands under ESEA, the need to adequately fund public schools to meet those demands, and the need for parents to “turn up the heat” on legislators.

Desetti and Tallman also appeared before the House Education Budget Committee as part of the Kansas School Finance Coalition to speak about the need for adequate school funding at the committee meeting tomorrow. “While we appreciate the fact that the Governor’s budget does not cut education, we must be mindful of the need to maintain and build on the solid educational foundation we have in Kansas,” Desetti said. “We cannot maintain our system and meet the increasing demands of the federal government with flat funding.”

Other money discussions…

This week saw the start of discussions on other ways to fund public schools. The House Education Committee held hearings on two bills:

• HB 2105 would allow local districts to raise additional funds outside of the LOB while giving 25% of those funds to the state for redistribution to less wealthy districts through a grant process.
• HB 2178 would gradually lift the cap on the LOB from its current 25% to 35% in five years.

KNEA and KASB testified jointly in opposition to both bills because of their tendency to disequalize school funding, making property wealthy districts able to dramatically increase funding and leaving property poor districts behind.

“We have got to come up with a statewide solution to school funding,” said KNEA President Christy Levings. “We can’t afford to create a system with the ‘haves’ in wealthy districts and the ‘have-nots’ in poor districts.”

KNEA will continue to advocate for adequate and equitable school funding for all Kansas students.

Efficiency! Efficiency! Efficiency!

Legislators are trying to find some way to put “efficiency” into the system! This week there were considerations of what to do about kids from other states coming into our schools, what to do about district consolidation, and how to make budgets understandable so we can find all the money.

On out-of-state kids…

On Wednesday, the House Education Committee held hearings on two bills designed to deal with students from other states who enter Kansas public schools. The full two hours was devoted to testimony, most of it from superintendents of border school districts who are opposed to making any changes. The discussion continued Thursday morning with no resolution to the issue. At the center of the discussion are border towns that take children from outside of Kansas and report those children in their attendance count. While some argue that we are paying for another state’s students, others maintain that the parent of most of those children work and shop in Kansas and so pay taxes to Kansas. As of right now, these bills, HB 2187 and HB 2194, have not been passed out of committee.

Consolidation…

The McDonald’s/Wal-Mart/Regional Hospital proposal was discussed and now a pile of consolidation bills have been introduced. Getting hearings next week will be:

• HB 2195, consolidating into countywide school districts except for Johnson, Sedgwick, and Wyandotte counties;
• HB 2209, consolidates districts in counties of less than 10,000 population;
• HB 2210, consolidates administrative services in counties of less than 10,000 population;
• HB 2253, requires the state board to study and then consolidate school districts; and
• HB 2256, studies the feasibility of regional education districts (the McDonald’s/Wal-Mart approach).

Budgeting…

And finally, in order to find out where all the money goes, both Education Committees have been discussing Sen. Bunten’s building-based budget bill. So far Sen. Bunten does not seem to be getting too much support from his colleagues.

Senate sets floating notice date aside; still considering work after retirement

SB 89, which would have allowed for a floating notice date when the legislature did not adopt a budget by April 16, was discussed and the Senate Education Committee voted to take no action on it. Both KNEA and KASB opposed SB 89. KNEA lobbyist Mark Desetti testified, “The floating date would put an undue burden on both the school district and the teachers. Under the current system, we all know the dates. What would be the system for ensuring that the school districts always act by the appropriate date or that the teacher is certain of the date for response?”

The Senate Education Committee continued work on SB 60, the bill allowing retired teachers to work in their own districts after retirement. KNEA, while supporting the concept, asked the committee to remove provisions that would have denied those teachers continuing contract status and due process. The bill was amended to allow for continuing contract status and another amendment will be proposed to grant them due process protections. The bill was also amended at the request of USA so that it applies to administrators as well. Right now it is bogged down in discussions on its potential impact on KPERS and whether or not it allows administrators to return only as teachers in shortage areas and not as administrators. The Committee chose to hold the bill and gather more information before acting.

House Education votes to repeal prohibition on teachers serving on the State Board of Education

Since 1968 teachers and community college employees have been prohibited by statute from serving on the State Board of Education. This week, the House Education Committee voted to recommend favorably HB 2179, a bill proposed by Rep. Everett Johnson, which would repeal that prohibition. Johnson, who served on the state board and was a defendant in court proceedings challenging his service, is a retired college professor.

A motion by Committee Chair Kathe Decker to repeal only the prohibition on community college employees but maintain the prohibition on teachers failed on a voice vote. Many committee members challenged the notion that such service was a “conflict of interest” for teachers but not for attorneys, physicians, and even barbers who serve on their regulatory boards. The measure now goes to the full House.

Technical college governance bill not settled yet

The Senate Education Committee held a hearing on Senate Bill 7 which would require all technical colleges to have a governing board separate from a school district board. KNEA will continue to encourage the committee not to lose sight of the salaries, benefits, and rights of technical college employees should this bill pass. Time ran out on the hearing and it will continue at a later date.

Vouchers introduced in Senate

A not unexpected voucher bill has been introduced in the Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee where, coincidentally, Olathe Senator Kay O’Connor serves as a member.

SB 211 would be devastating to school finance as it phases in voucher payments until they reach as much as 90% of base state aid in 2008-09. In addition, unlike previous voucher plans, this one opens availability to everyone regardless of poverty status.

This bill does not have a hearing at this time. We will be watching it carefully in the event that it begins to move through the process.

“Turn around” coming up

We are closing in on the last days of the 1st half of this session. Bills must pass the house of origin by March 1, 2003. After that date, only bills in exempt committees such as Ways and Means or Federal and State Affairs will continue. This leaves a lot of work to be done by committees in a short period of time. Follow them by reading our daily updates on the KNEA website.

KNEA Legislative Contacts

Blake West, President
Mark Desetti, Director, Legislative and Political Advocacy
Terry Forsyth, Director, Political Action

The KNEA Lobby Team consists of elected leaders and staff. The Lobby Team welcomes member feedback on issues before the Legislature and on this site.