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February 16, 2007

This week’s links:

Understanding Taxes… 

You know we need taxes but so many legislators think taxes are evil! What’s the real deal?

Click here to learn about the reality of taxes: What’s good policy; Who’s paying?; Are they going up or down?

Want to be a legislative know-it-all?

Stop hoping someone forwards this to you!

Subscibe to Under the Dome, KNEA’s daily legislative report.

Funding Issues:

KNEA testifies on Education Budget

KNEA lobbyist Mark Desetti appeared before the House Education Budget Committee to share the Association’s thoughts on funding schools. Here are some of his remarks:

Kansas NEA believes that the Kansas Legislature must, at a minimum, honor the commitments made in SB 549 for the 2007-08 and 2008-09 school years. Kansas NEA further believes that as the economy of Kansas continues to improve additional increases in school funding are necessary and justified.

We applaud the steps the legislature has already taken in the passage of Senate Bill 30 which demonstrate a widespread commitment on the part of the legislature to honor the promises of Senate Bill 549.

You have learned in a new study by the Legislative Post Audit Division that teacher salaries, when adjusted for cost of living differences nationwide, are 33^rd in the nation. More distressing for the retention of teachers is that the study found beginning teacher salaries among the best when adjusted for regional differences (6^th) but veteran teacher salaries drop to 36^th.

An additional challenge is that of health insurance for teachers and their families. Some school districts still do not offer health insurance at all and too many require large out of pocket expenditure for premiums for family coverage.

We believe that the Legislature must make every effort to increase teacher salaries and the opportunities for access to affordable health insurance. Funding that comes to school districts as base state aid is the most useful way to provide funding if you want to address salaries and benefits.

Other ways to address teacher retention include quality professional development, new teacher induction and mentoring, and empowering teachers as decision-makers in their schools.

Recent actions by the Legislature have moved more school funding to the local level and required an increasing dependence on the local property tax payer.

Today the LOB is at 31%, there are additional local property tax levies for the cost of living and declining enrollment weightings, and there are proposals before this legislature to add still more local property tax levies at the discretion of local boards of education.

We find this trend disturbing in part because it creates disparities in the ability of taxpayers in one area to fund the same kind of quality education as in other high-valuation areas but also because it is contributing to an over-reliance on the property tax and upsetting the traditional three-legged stool of tax balance.

Special Ed Vouchers: A “Superfund” for private schools

Kay O’Connor may be gone, but her spirit lives on! We had two special education vouchers bills both of which are virtually identical to Kay’s last proposal while in the Senate. In the House HB 2253 by Rep. Lance Kinzer (R-Olathe) would let students with IEPs go to private schools, take money away from public schools, demand that public schools also provide special ed services to the private schools, pay for assessments for the private schools, and transport the private school students.   KNEA lobbyist Mark Desetti referred to this bill as the “special ed superfund for private schools.”

Over in the Senate it was SB 282 by Sen. Chris Steineger (D-Kansas City ). The bill was identical to HB 2253 except that it also provided vouchers for at-risk students with a GPA of less than 3.0. KNEA’s position was the same too.

Also opposing both bills were KASB, Kansas Families United for Public Education, Kansas City Public Schools, and the Olathe Public Schools.

Renewing a state revenue source for schools

Every two years the Legislature must renew the statewide two mill property tax levy for schools and this is the year.

SB 144 would renew the levy. KNEA supported the bill.

This ought to be a “no-brainer” for everyone. The 20 mill property tax levy is a major fund dedicated to public education. If the legislature wants to continue funding public schools (and in passing the “lock box” they have indicated that that is the case) then they need to make sure the funding stream is there.

The Senate Education Committee passed the bill out for consideration by the full Senate.

Tax Issues:

Everybody is hopping on the sales tax exemption gravy train!

In most years, legislators consider a few new sales tax exemptions for worthy organizations. Usually it focuses on whether or  not an organization like the Girl Scouts should be exempt from charging sales tax on cookies.

This year however, it looks like a sales tax exemption feeding frenzy in the House and Senate Tax Committees.

This week the Senate Tax Committee considered no less than nine sales tax exemptions. And who wants an exemption this week? These nine bills gave breaks to 501 (c)(3) organizations, the Dream Factory, Inc., Jazz in the Woods, Inc., Ottawa Suzuki Strings, Inc., the International Association of Lions Clubs, Johnson County Young Matrons, Inc., the Frontenac Education Foundation, the Booth Theatre Foundation, Inc., and the TLC Charities Foundation, Inc.

KNEA, speaking on behalf of both the association and KASB, expressed concern to the committee saying, “Each of these bills represents a small exemption. Each of these may be a worthy organization. But with each exemption granted, the state revenue stream is reduced. We have not seen any tax proposals that would offset the loss of revenue that would result from the passage of these or any of the other tax reductions being debated this year.”

It won’t end here. On Thursday bills were introduced seeking sales tax exemptions for the Kansas Herpetological Society and the Center of North American Herpetology!

KNEA and KASB are urging the Tax Committees to take a comprehensive look at the entire Kansas tax system to ensure that our many provisions result in a system that will provide stable funding for all state services and that is fair to both citizens and business. A bill to do this is Senate Bill 350 which would create a Tax Modernization Commission charged with reviewing the system and restoring common sense.

So far the Tax Committees seem disinterested.

Other Issues:

Passing the full Senate:

Two bills on Physical Education

In the House it was HB 2090 by Rep. Pat Colloton (R-Leawood). As drafted Colloton’s bill would require schools to conduct a physical fitness test and to measure the height and weight of all students in grades 4, 7, 9, and 12 and report the body mass index (BMI) to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. It would also require schools to submit a report on the number of licensed PE teachers.

Its brother bill in the Senate was SB 281 by Sen. Chris Steineger (D-Kansas City ). Steineger’s bill does everything Colloton’s does but adds a requirement that students in elementary schools get 200 minutes every 10 days of PE instruction while secondary students get 400 minutes of PE every 10 days.

KNEA testified against both bills as unfunded mandates. Who, KNEA asked, would be responsible for doing all the measuring and calculating of height, weight, and BMI? Who would complete the state reports? Who would pay the ongoing costs of program implementation?

In addition, KNEA opposed the Senate Bill’s addition of three credits of PE to the high school graduation program. The bill has no funding for the additional personnel and adding these three credits could result in the reduction of opportunities for other elective classes such as fine arts and foreign languages.

A proposed amendment to the Colloton bill would reduce the mandate to simply measuring height and weight and turning that information into KDHE who would calculate the BMI. This would be done without student identifying data and the information used by KDHE to gather data on the obesity situation in Kansas. Colloton’s amendment would also provide support to school district who need help getting the measurements done. KNEA will support Colloton’s amendment when the committee decides to work the bill.

Two bills on Vending machines

Over in the House, HB 2275 would simply turn off the vending machines during the school day. The Senate version, SB 170, would turn off most vending machines – there is an exception for vending machines with water only – and put restrictions on the times and locations where soft drinks could be sold for fundraisers.

KNEA did not testify on either bill but made it clear that if schools cannot count on vending machine sales money, the state should replace those funds. Vending machines are most often used to support student clubs, activities, and extracurricular programs. Often they are a source of funding for uniforms for bands and athletic teams.

The other bills

HB 2343 – This early graduation incentive program would give a $1000 grant to students who graduate a year early from high school. This grant would be used to purchase tools necessary for entering a building trades training program or apprenticeship. Upon completion of the training or apprenticeship program, the student would be given another $3000 grant. KNEA took no position.

HB 2310 – This bill would require the development of a common definition of bullying, require schools to develop and implement anti-bullying programs and annually survey students on the effectiveness of those plans. KNEA took a neutral stand on the bill telling legislators that the bill left many questions and did not provide any funds for development of implementation of the plan.

HB 2347 – This gifted education teacher prep mandate would require schools of education to require one course in gifted education and all current teachers to take 10 hours of gifted education professional development for their next license renewal. KNEA told the committee that the pre-service issue is one to be addressed at the State Board of Education where teacher prep program standards are developed and set and that the issue of training current teachers is appropriately in the purview of the local professional development council and the teacher’s professional development plan.

HB 2389 – This is an annual bill sought by those frustrated because a local board of education has turned down their charter school request. The bill would allow the State Board of Education to overturn the local board’s denial of a charter petition. KNEA opposed the bill because we hold strongly that schools that use tax dollars must be accountable to the local taxpayers. The best way to do that is to keep decisions about charter schools in the hands of the locally elected school board. This will ensure that each community has schools that meet the needs of that community.

SB 171 – The “Fresh Start” program would require schools to provide fresh fruits and vegetables to students between meals. There would be some money available through grants but there would not likely be enough money to reimburse the costs to school districts. KNEA took no position.

Coming up next week!

Two days of light committee hearings and then nothing but floor action

Among the bills getting hearings next week:

SB 280, a bill on corporal punishment providing immunity for teachers who practice it and defining what offenses would be eligible for immediate corporal punishment.

HB 2389, a bill requiring school districts to have policies on dealing with blood and infectious materials.

HB 2337, disallowing at-risk weighting for students 21 years of age and older.

HB 2338, a bill changing at-risk weighting from a student head count to an FTE count.

SB 338, setting teacher pay at the schools for the deaf and blind to the Olathe salary schedule.

HCR 5013, a constitutional amendment capping the property valuations for Kansans over 65 years of age.

Committees will meet Monday and Tuesday. After that it’s three or maybe four days of floor action as both chambers race to turn-around. Any bill that has a chance must be passed by the chamber or origin by Saturday or be tossed in the dustbin of history! Unless of course Legislative leadership “blesses” the bill by sending it to a committee that is exempt from timelines – like the money committees!

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.