Kan. lawmakers skeptical of school finance plans
Special to the Gazette
Friday, December 9, 2011
Even some Republicans in the Kansas Legislature are skeptical of GOP Gov. Sam Brownback’s impending plan for overhauling how the state finances its public schools and his administration’s promises that his proposals won’t hurt poor or rural districts.
Landon Fulmer, the governor’s policy director, heard some of that skepticism Wednesday during a meeting of the Legislative Educational Planning Committee, the Lawrence Journal-World reported. Fulmer has been briefing legislators, other state officials and educators on the outlines of the plan and told the committee more details will be made public next week.
A key part of the plan would remove limits set by the state on the power of its 283 school districts to increase local property taxes. Critics worry that it will allow wealthier and more populous districts to offer far better educations than poorer or rural ones.
Fulmer told the committee that the administration has “a strong philosophical belief” in giving local communities unlimited control over raising funds for their schools.
But committee Chairwoman Jean Schodorf, a Wichita Republican, said legislators need more details about how Brownback’s proposals will affect the distribution of more than $3 billion in state aid.
“The devil’s in the dollars,” she said.
Brownback’s critics have worried that his school funding plan would push local school boards into approving large property tax increases to make up for inadequate state dollars. Brownback’s conservative GOP allies contend districts can tap reserve funds, having received greater authority this year from the Legislature to do so.
Fulmer also has told educators and other officials that the plan has a “hold harmless” provision that will prevent any districts from losing money. But he’s acknowledged that it won’t keep districts from seeing their state aid decrease if they lose students over time.
Sen. Ruth Teichman, a Stafford Republican, said, “You’re saying hold harmless light.”
The Kansas Constitution says the state must make “suitable provision” for financing its public schools, and the state Supreme Court has said in past decisions that the state must ensure that all students receive an adequate education, regardless of where they live. Limits on local property taxes were designed to prevent wide gaps in the quality of education statewide.
The state enacted its current school funding formula in 1992, revising it because of Kansas Supreme Court decisions in 2005 and 2006.
The Great Recession led the state to back away from big, court-mandated increases in aid. This year, the GOP-controlled Legislature, urged by Brownback to control spending, cut base state aid to schools by nearly 6 percent — or $232 per student — dropping it to $3,780.
The state has been sued by 32 students, along with their parents and guardians, and the Dodge City, Hutchinson, Kansas City and Wichita school districts. They argue state funding is inadequate and that the money is distributed unfairly. Brownback has said he wants to overhaul the funding formula to avoid future lawsuits.
Committee members voted to oppose further cuts from the current base aid figure, with several predicting Brownback won’t propose an additional reduction next week. However, the governor’s office told the Journal-World that his recommendation is still being finalized.