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Feb. 27 - March 3, 2006

This week’s links:

Click here for KNEA’s Finance in Focus: HB 2986

Click here for the KSDE – what would each district receive under HB 2986?

Planning to talk to your legislator? Click here to review our powerpoint for citizen-lobbyists!

It’s the Punxsutawny Plan!

The Senate’s school finance plan stuck out its head, gave a look around, and ducked back in meaning, I guess, six more weeks of legislative session.

A bipartisan plan was set to be unveiled on Thursday and made its first appearance at the Ways and Means Committee in the morning. By that afternoon, there was much confusion – particularly about a provision on mandatory LOBs – and before the plan was committed to bill form, it was pulled back in for a re-examination by the authors.

What we can tell about the Senate plan so far is that, like the House plan (HB 2986), it is a three-year phase in and focuses on at-risk funding. Base state aid increases are a bit larger than those in the House plan and correlation weighting changes are smaller. There is also a phase in of more special education funding.

Like the House plan, there is a modified “urban poverty index” as proposed in the Legislative Post Audit Division report. While the LPA study based this on the density of poverty, the House plan provides the funding to school districts with a per pupil density of 212.1 students per square mile and 35.1% of its students on free lunch. The Senate plan provides the increase to the five poorest districts based on free lunch participation. The LPA study gives this extra weighting to USD 500 Kansas City, USD 501 Topeka, USD 202 Turner, and USD 259 Wichita. The House plan would add USD 308 Hutchinson and USD 453 Leavenworth to the list. Under the Senate plan, the extra funding goes to USD 259 Wichita, USD 443 Dodge City, USD 480 Liberal, USD 500 Kansas City, and USD 501 Topeka.

The fly in the ointment has turned out to be a confusing provision regarding mandatory LOBs and transferring authority to the general fund. The provision proved to be so hard to explain and generated so many different explanations that the bill was sent back to the authors to try to ascertain just what they wanted to do.

A hearing on the bill was scheduled for next Monday but those plans appear to be scrapped at this moment due to the re-write of the bill.

Just about everyone has something to say about the House finance plan

The official hearings on HB 2986, the House Select Committee on School Finance plan for addressing the on-going crisis in school funding, began on Wednesday.

This latest plan is in response to the funding study conducted by the Division of the Legislative Post Audit at the request of the 2005 Legislature. While some legislators had hoped that the LPA study would indicate that Kansas was spending plenty on schools, the results actually came in not much different from the much maligned (by legislators) Augenblick and Myers study.

Testimony started with Dr. Bruce D. Baker of the University of Kansas speaking on behalf of Schools for Fair Funding, the coalition of school districts that brought the lawsuit. Baker focused his comments on the Kansas Supreme Court’s mandate that the Legislature’s cost study be tied to “achievement of measurable standards of student proficiency.” To that end, Baker argued that any plan that was not based on student outcomes would not meet that requirement. Baker further argued that the outcomes analysis by Professors Duncombe and Yinger (they were contracted by the LPA to conduct the outcomes analysis) was the most appropriate – more appropriate than the LPA’s modified version of the outcomes study.

Also testifying were Val DeFever representing Schools for Quality Education, a coalition of small school districts. DeFever urged the committee to give schools more flexibility in the use of money and less targeting.

Representative Ray Merrick (R-Stilwell) debated the fairness of the plan based on the impact on his district. Merrick specifically brought up LOB and at-risk funding as issues. Representative O’Neal (R-Hutchinson) wanted to know exactly what “at-risk” is – does at-risk mean in danger of not graduating? In danger of not making proficient on a state assessment?

Third up was Mark Tallman of KASB. The primary point of Tallman’s message was that by phasing in the funding, the state immediately begins to fall behind inflation. You can see this effect in the graph on KNEA’s Finance in Focus document on HB 2986. Click here to see the KNEA Finance in Focus paper. As a result districts will continue to be forced to rely on the LOB.

Also in Tallman’s testimony was a discussion of the “accountablility” and “flexibility” portions of HB 2986. One area is the new mandated paperwork in HB 2986. The bill requires four new annual reports to be filed with the State Department of Education.

Testifying on day two along with KNEA were John Cleek and John Doll of the Louisburg School District, Bill Reardon for Kansas City Schools, Ashland USD Superintendent Jerry Cullen, Bob Van Crum for Blue Valley USD 229, Stuart Little for Shawnee Mission Schools, Kathy Cook of Kansas Families United for Public Education, Sherri Frankenbery representing FACS teachers, Deborah Mock representing Career and Technical Education teachers, and former FACS teacher Mita West. All of these presenters shared both the good points and concerns with the bill in its current form. General agreement is that we need more for at-risk children although perhaps we can modify the way we distribute the money (KNEA and KASB maintain that any change should add to free lunch and not be a replacement for free lunch). Other points of general agreement dealt with the overall funding level in the bill (considered to be too small) and concern for the slow phase in of the funding.

Speaking against everything was conservative small business owner Ken Daniel, a regular at legislative meetings in which money is discussed. Daniel suggested that the legislature just ignore everything in the LPA study which he considers unscientific and deeply flawed. Most interesting were his comments on poverty and student achievement. Maintaining that there is no relationship between poverty and educational outcomes, Daniel asked if anyone had ever considered that some kids are just smarter than others.

The hearing took up the allotted time and discussion by the committee was scheduled for Friday but…

Rep. Aurand has an idea…

Yes, Representative Clay Aurand (R-Courtland) came before the House Select Committee and tossed out his idea for a one year plan based on HB 2986 but eliminating the high at-risk weighting and making major changes to the LOB including a 12% mandatory LOB and a change in state support. Aurand’s proposal was not in bill form and would take a lot of discussion and analysis to fully understand.

Aurand’s idea seemed to take the committee aback and it was decided to put off work on HB 2986.

Disposable worker bill to get a hearing in the House on Monday and Tuesday

Senate Bill 461, the disposable worker bill to strip you of  most workers compensation benefits if you are older or ever had another injury, passed the Senate last week and has its hearing in the House next week. The House Commerce Committee members are key to defeating this bill. Please take the time to phone or email and ask them to vote NO on SB 461. Look below for talking points or log onto the website of the Kansas Coalition for Workplace Safety by clicking here.

Republicans: Don Dahl, Scott Schwab, Mike Burgess, John Grange, Joe Humerickhouse, Terri Huntington, Dan Johnson, Mike Kiegerl, Patricia Kilpatrick, Ty Masterson, Charles Roth, Stephanie Sharp, Kay Wolf,

Democrats: Candy Ruff, Delia Garcia, Bob Grant, Broderick Henderson, Jan Pauls, Louis Ruiz

Talking Points on SB 461

Passage of SB 461 is not about making good policy.

Does Kansas need this workers compensation “reform?”

• Kansas employers pay the 6^th lowest workers compensation insurance premiums in the United States.
• Kansas employees receive the 4^th lowest workers compensation benefits in the United States.
• Kansas is 6^th in profitability for insurance companies on workers compensation in the United States.

Senate Bill 461 guarantees even lower premiums for Kansas business, even greater profits for insurance companies, and lower benefits for injured Kansas workers.

• Lower premiums for Kansas business,
• Bigger profits for Kansas insurance companies,
• Lower benefits for injured Kansas workers.

SB 461 hurts working Kansans

• In a work related injury your age can be considered a “pre-existing condition” and used to reduce your benefits.
• If you are injured and laid off for an “economic reason,” which can be anything from a stock market drop to a worry about sales figures, you are not entitled to workers compensation benefits.
• Workers with dangerous jobs such as fire fighters can have their benefits for a serious injury reduced by minor injuries suffered on the job in previous accidents.
• Accepted medical guides for rating injuries are replaced by doctors’ opinions.

Who wants this bill? The Kansas Chamber of Commerce and Industry, big insurance executives, and Kansas conservative candidate for Lieutenant Governor Susan Wagle (a member of the Committee that approved the bill).

House Fed and State Committee: immigrants no; guns probably

Committee votes to repeal immigrant tuition

Immigrant children were the victims of the Kansas Legislature this week. They were delivered a blow when the House Federal and State Affairs Committee approved HB 2615, a bill repealing a Kansas statute which gives certain of these children in-state tuition rates at Kansas institutions of post-secondary education.

Kansas law currently allows the children of undocumented workers who have attended a Kansas high school for three years and either graduated from a Kansas high school or hold a GED issued in Kansas to attend a state institution of post-secondary education at the resident tuition rate provided the student signs an affidavit saying that he/she will seek legal status.

Representative Becky Hutchins (R-Holton) has sought to repeal that law and effectively deny these high achieving students access to a college education. The bill failed to come out of committee when a motion to pass it failed on a tie vote on February 15. In the meantime, House Speaker Doug Mays (R-Topeka), a proponent of the repeal, called Committee Chairman John Edmonds and asked him to hold a second vote.

In committee this time, Representative Lance Kinzer (R-Olathe) moved and Rep. Ray Merrick (R-Stilwell) seconded a motion to vote the bill out favorably. At that point, Representative Ann Mah (D-Topeka) offered a substitute motion to amend the bill by simply having the current law sunset if it were to be found in conflict with federal law (as the proponents of repeal claim). Mah’s motion failed on vote of 8-12. In voting on the Kinzer motion, the repeal was approved on the same vote.

Voting to repeal resident tuition for these students were Republicans Lynne Oharah, Lance Kinzer, Ray Merrick, Steve Brunk, Don Myers, Everett Johnson, Don Dahl, Judy Morrison, Anthony Brown, Arlen Siegfried and Richard Kelsey and Democrat Ann Mah,

Voting no on the repeal were Democrats Judy Loganbill, Nile Dilmore, Candy Ruff, Tom Burroughs, Melody Miller, and Tom Hawk and Republicans Barbara Craft, and Kenny Wilk.

KNEA testified against the repeal along with the Board of Regents, the Kansas Hispanic and Latino Affairs Commission, Kansas League of Women Voters, KASB, the Kansas Catholic Conference, El Centro, Kansas United Methodist Women, the American GI Forum, USD 259 (Wichita ), and Kansas Families United for Public Education. 

Click here to read the KNEA testimony.

Concealed carry gets hearing; looks popular

The House Federal and State Affairs Committee also held a hearing on SB 418, the concealed carry of firearms bill. It went much the same as it did in the Senate with the same proponents (Senator Journey and the NRA) and the same opponents (municipalities and Safe State Kansas ) and the same amendment requests (KNEA). KNEA continues to ask for off campus school activities, churches and child care facilities to be places where guns are prohibited. The only difference in this hearing was the number of library advocates who came to ask for a prohibition on firearms in libraries.

We expect the bill to come out of committee like greased lightning.

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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.