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January 13, 2006

This week’s links:

The Legislative Post Audit’s study of school funding: A 27-page executive summary as well as the full 341-page report can be accessed by clicking here.

Governor Sebelius’ “State of the State” Address: To read the text of the Governor's speech, click here.

 

In a light week, the school finance study is all the buzz

Remember that at this point, the study is only a report. No part of it has been turned into legislation. There will be a long period of study and discussion before legislators decide they want to put any of it into bill form. We will keep you posted here as to the progress of the debate.

The 2006 legislative session got under way Monday with the release of the Legislative Post Audit study on school finance in the morning and Governor Sebelius' State of the State address in the evening.

Depending on which study and which scenario one examines, the Legislative Division of Post Audit's studies call from anywhere from $399 million to $623 million in new spending on K-12 education. The bottom line is that, according to this new study done internally at the order of the Kansas Legislature, Kansas schools remain underfunded.

Talk under the dome is of a multi-year phase in of the additional funding. How many years that would be has not been discussed - at least publicly. Most legislators have determined that this can be done without a tax increase with some Republican leaders mentioning increased revenue due to an improving economy and possible budget cuts in other areas. Also raised was the continuing debate on expanded gaming - a concept long sought by some Democrats, particularly those from Wyandotte County.

The Senate Education Committee was first to take up the study, hearing from Barb Hinton, Director of the Legislative Post Audit Division, on Wednesday and Thursday. 

The study is complex and will take a lot of discussion and digestion to understand. So far most discussion has been around several high profile issues, including:

• At-risk students: The study recommends a large increase in the at-risk weighting which would provide most schools with a significant amount of money. In addition, the study recommends an “urban poverty” weight to address the extra challenges faced by urban school districts with high concentrations of students in poverty.
• Bilingual students: The study recommends a decrease in the bilingual weighting and changing the calculation from the number of hours a student spends with a bilingual-endorsed teacher to a simple headcount of bilingual students.
• Special Education students: The study includes modifications in how special education excess costs are calculated and would result in increased special education funding.
• The Regional Cost Index: This recommendation adjusts funding for teacher salaries and benefits based on a measure of housing costs, working conditions, and community amenities. It is designed to provide additional funds to schools that must provide higher salaries to attract teachers. It is a significant departure from legislative proposals that based such a calculation only on the costs of housing within the districts.
• Vocational weighting: While the Augenblick and Myers study recommended the elimination of this weighting – a proposal that got significant support in the legislature last year – this study recommends reducing the weighting.
• Low enrollment weighting: The study recommends reductions in the low enrollment weighting from the current high of 1.014 to 0.878 or 0.773. This results in funding reductions for a number of school districts which are then offset by a “hold harmless” recommendation. (see below)
• Hold Harmless: The study contains a “hold harmless” recommendation so that school districts which would see a reduction in overall funding if the study were adopted, would have no funding cuts or flat funding.

Overall, the study is very thorough, but many of its provisions will animate debates in the statehouse – particularly between rural and urban or suburban legislators.

Legislators are still in learning mode as they seek answers to their questions and concerns from LPA Director Barb Hinton and her staff.

KNEA press release on the study

KNEA Leaders and Staff were in attendance today for the release of the Legislative Post Audit Committee’s Cost Study Analysis which provides additional evidence of the need for additional funding for Kansas K-12 public schools.  The study provided extensive research and material for the Legislature in understanding the need for a minimum of nearly 400 million new dollars for our public schools in the 2006-07 school year.  The study looked at both an Outcome model and an Input model.  The researchers studied school districts and student performance from around the state as well as districts of various student population sizes.  This is a massive study and will require time to fully understand all the components of the research. At this time KNEA sees the following components as strengths and needs for further discussion.

KNEA sees the strengths of the study:

• Both the input and outcome funding approaches resulted in the need for significant additional funds for the public school system.
• In Kansas, over time, a strong association exists between district spending and district achievement outcomes.
• Special education funding was studied and the need to increase funding for special education was identified.
• The need to significantly increase the funding for at-risk students and for students in poverty was recognized.

KNEA saw the following as areas not fully addressed or in need of additional discussion and study:

• Teacher compensation is not addressed in a way that outlines how districts can move Kansas  teacher salaries up from a ranking of 42^nd in the nation.
• The area of Vocational Funding needs to be further explored.  The need to provide students who do not attend colleges and universities the skills for 21^st century jobs requires further study.
• Transportation funding needs to reexamined, specifically state policies to address the needs of urban districts and for unsafe and heavily trafficked areas.
• Further discussion is needed to insure the stability of declining enrollment districts.

KNEA President, Christy Levings stated, “Kansas NEA believes that we must continue to raise standards and meet the needs of all Kansas students.  It must be a priority to close all achievement gaps as well as to continue to advance the achievement level of our future citizens.  It must be a priority to develop a long term school funding plan in Kansas that will provide our schools with consistent and stable funding.  The long term plan must recognize that as we continue to move forward the necessary resources must be available to our schools.  Kansas NEA challenges the Kansas Legislature to step up to the plate and fund our schools in a way that does not jeopardize the future economic growth of our state and the future success of our children.”

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.