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Economy on the High Plains
How cuts could affect Kansas education
GARDEN CITY, KAN.
(hppr) -
The state of Kansas is facing budget shortfalls for the fiscal years 2009 and 2010. Governor Kathleen Sebelius submitted a proposed budget to the state legislature two weeks ago. The budget froze funding for kindergarten through 12th grade education. K through 12 education makes up approximately half of the state budget. Many Republicans think that deeper cuts should be made to education, or that across the board cuts should be considered to balance the budget. If the legislature decides to follow Sebelius' proposal and freeze education it will still be a slight decrease in funding. Kansas Commissioner of Education Alexa Posny says it would be a slight decrease due to increases in cost, and it would average out to about 22 dollars cut per pupil. Posny says there are areas where budgets could be reduced to sustain the decrease or make up for it.
Possibly funding some of the programs from a contingency reserve fund, reducing nonessential travel, reducing the instructional supplies for the rest of the year. Taking a look at not replacing staff who might leave such as Para educators, not offering as much professional development. The issue is that the budget was all set. The budget was already aligned to be spent for the whole year, but let me be really clear, in light of the tremendous economic downturn that we're seeing this is almost like a best-case scenario for the schools and districts.
However, the largest percentage of school budgets cannot be cut this late in the fiscal year. About 75 to 80% of budgets are in personnel, many of whom are contracted. This poses a problem if the state legislature decides to make deeper cuts in education funding. The state senate has been discussing a possible 3.4% across the board cut. Robert O'Connor, Superintendent of Holcomb USD 363, says that if a 3.4% budget cut were introduced that would mean a 177,000 dollar decrease in the general fund alone. O'Connor says budget cuts are already being looked into.
It will be things we'll discuss in the February board meeting and get some direction from there, but with that large of a cut you can't wait until March or April. It's too late then. There's not enough left in the budget to even hope to accommodate that kind of number as they're throwing around now.
Bill Hall, superintendent of schools for Ulysses USD 214, expresses similar concerns about the timing of possible cuts.
And that's what causes me the most concern obviously is the timing. Because by the time we find out about this once it passes both houses and either it's approved or not approved by the governor and finally becomes law, we're going to be three-fourths of the way through our fiscal year. It's going to be very difficult to make the cuts of the size they're proposing.
Hall says if such large cuts are approved it will be very difficult to get through this fiscal year without directly hurting the students. Even if the scenario is best-case for education cuts, Commissioner Posny expects to see the impact of less funding. For the last 8 years there has been an increasing percentage of students performing at the proficient level in reading and math on state assessment exams. Now around 80 percent of students are performing at the proficient level or above and Posny says the rest of the students are struggling; they're the ones that have required extra resources in the classroom.
We're talking about not even being able to sustain and maintain what we currently have and we're talking about cutting back on these very things that have been put in and shown to be effective. What the districts are going to have to look at cutting, and what we talked about with the superintendents out in western Kansas, the very things that they have put in place that have made the difference in how well these students are performing, these literacy coaches, these intervention specialists, these para educators, these wonderful professional development programs that help teachers know the strategies that will work with any child these are the first things that will probably be cut.
Superintendent O'Connor of Holcomb schools on the possible loss of that extra personnel.
More of anything costs more and when those things are pulled away, unfortunately that may be what happens, you're going to see a drop in performance across the state.
O'Connor thinks that if there is a drop in performance it would be an eye-opening experience for those in state government. For High Plains Public Radio News, I'm Lindsey Fields reporting.
© Copyright 2010, hppr
(2009-01-29)
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Possibly funding some of the programs from a contingency reserve fund, reducing nonessential travel, reducing the instructional supplies for the rest of the year. Taking a look at not replacing staff who might leave such as Para educators, not offering as much professional development. The issue is that the budget was all set. The budget was already aligned to be spent for the whole year, but let me be really clear, in light of the tremendous economic downturn that we're seeing this is almost like a best-case scenario for the schools and districts.
However, the largest percentage of school budgets cannot be cut this late in the fiscal year. About 75 to 80% of budgets are in personnel, many of whom are contracted. This poses a problem if the state legislature decides to make deeper cuts in education funding. The state senate has been discussing a possible 3.4% across the board cut. Robert O'Connor, Superintendent of Holcomb USD 363, says that if a 3.4% budget cut were introduced that would mean a 177,000 dollar decrease in the general fund alone. O'Connor says budget cuts are already being looked into.
It will be things we'll discuss in the February board meeting and get some direction from there, but with that large of a cut you can't wait until March or April. It's too late then. There's not enough left in the budget to even hope to accommodate that kind of number as they're throwing around now.
Bill Hall, superintendent of schools for Ulysses USD 214, expresses similar concerns about the timing of possible cuts.
And that's what causes me the most concern obviously is the timing. Because by the time we find out about this once it passes both houses and either it's approved or not approved by the governor and finally becomes law, we're going to be three-fourths of the way through our fiscal year. It's going to be very difficult to make the cuts of the size they're proposing.
Hall says if such large cuts are approved it will be very difficult to get through this fiscal year without directly hurting the students. Even if the scenario is best-case for education cuts, Commissioner Posny expects to see the impact of less funding. For the last 8 years there has been an increasing percentage of students performing at the proficient level in reading and math on state assessment exams. Now around 80 percent of students are performing at the proficient level or above and Posny says the rest of the students are struggling; they're the ones that have required extra resources in the classroom.
We're talking about not even being able to sustain and maintain what we currently have and we're talking about cutting back on these very things that have been put in and shown to be effective. What the districts are going to have to look at cutting, and what we talked about with the superintendents out in western Kansas, the very things that they have put in place that have made the difference in how well these students are performing, these literacy coaches, these intervention specialists, these para educators, these wonderful professional development programs that help teachers know the strategies that will work with any child these are the first things that will probably be cut.
Superintendent O'Connor of Holcomb schools on the possible loss of that extra personnel.
More of anything costs more and when those things are pulled away, unfortunately that may be what happens, you're going to see a drop in performance across the state.
O'Connor thinks that if there is a drop in performance it would be an eye-opening experience for those in state government. For High Plains Public Radio News, I'm Lindsey Fields reporting.
© Copyright 2010, hppr
