Kansas lawmakers offer public schools a budget boost

.By Jason E. Silvers

Herald-Tribune

UNIONTOWN -- USD 235 will receive a boost in funding next year due to proposed state legislation that is once again under review by the Kansas Senate.

Last month, the Kansas House of Representatives approved a bill that will increase state funding for public schools by $37 million during the 2009-'10 school year -- a bill aimed at boosting teacher salaries. The new legislation also adds a fourth year to the three-year, $466 million school funding package that the Kansas Legislature passed in 2006. The package is being funded through larger-than-expected state revenues.

Under the House plan, base state aid per student will increase to $4,492 starting next year -- an increase of $59 over the current rate.

The increase would give U-235 an additional $48,000 to work with next year in its budget, additional money that is beneficial to the small, rural school district, USD 235 Superintendent Randy Rockhold said.

"Every increase helps provide needed services, and we are very appreciative of the state's wonderful support over the last three years. The fourth year proposal will include approximately the same

increase if it is passed."

The Senate had already approved the increase in an attempt to add a fourth year to the existing three-year school finance plan, which was approved to satisfy a Kansas Supreme Court ruling that said the state wasn't meeting its constitutional mandate to properly fund its public schools.

State Rep. Shirley Palmer, D-Fort Scott, said the House bill was debated at length and explored differing needs between rural, suburban and urban school districts, and also included other changes in the state school finance law. Legislators also proposed several amendments to the bill with an intent to modify the formula for determining how much money each of the 296 school districts statewide receive, Palmer said.

"The education debate was one of the most important debates we engaged in during the 2008 session," she said. "I am confident the legislation we approved will keep our promise of a quality education for all Kansas schoolchildren, regardless of what public school they attend."

About $122 million has already been earmarked by the state to fund the third year of the plan.

In 2005 and 2006, legislators approved K-12 school finance plans that cover four years, ending with the 2008-'09 school year, to comply with Kansas Supreme Court orders on education funding. State aid for schools this year is expected to be $892 million more than it was during the 2004-'05 school year, a nearly 39 percent increase. The state currently spends about $3.2 billion on its public schools.