Print edition: 
TOPEKA —The House Appropriations Committee passed a $5.1 billion budget proposal Thursday that includes no tax increases and would decrease money for public schools by about $172 million.
The amount of money that the state spends on kindergarten through 12th-grade education would stay the same next year as this year. However, the schools will get less money because they won't receive $172 million in federal stimulus money.
Gov. Mark Parkinson had asked the Legislature to increase funding to make up for the loss of federal funds, and spend another $33 million to increase per-pupil funding. However, the House committee recommended that the state not kick in any more money.
The committee's measure also seeks to save about $21 million through a 5 percent pay cut for most state workers, including judiciary and elected officials. The cut could result in state offices closing at 3 p.m. on Fridays.
Other proposed cuts include:
* A hiring freeze on some state agencies.
* No increase in the state's contributions to the state pension fund.
* Reducing most state agencies' budgets by 1 percent.
Education would not be cut further. The Department of Corrections and some social services caseloads also would not be cut.
House Speaker Mike O'Neal, R-Hutchinson, called the proposal "a balanced budget that does not make draconian cuts."
"We have indicated all along that we don't think a tax increase is very prudent in this environment," he said.
Gov. Mark Parkinson, a Democrat, said in a written statement that the House committee's proposal proved what he has said all along: "After already cutting more than a billion dollars in spending, there is not another $400 million that can be responsibly cut."
Democrats in the House said the measure relied on cuts in programs that shouldn't be cut more.
"I'm extremely disappointed the Republicans want to balance the budget on the backs of schoolchildren," said House Assistant Minority Leader Jim Ward of Wichita.
Because the state would not make up for the loss of federal stimulus money, the amount schools get in per-pupil base state aid would drop by $131 to $3,882.
"This proposal slashes funding for public schools and was passed two days after the same Republican leaders tried to push through over $350 million in corporate tax breaks," said House Minority Leader Paul Davis of Lawrence. "This is not what Kansas families sent us here to do."
Rep. Kevin Yoder, R-Overland Park, who chairs the House budget committee, argued that school districts would still be able raise money through a newly created local activities budget. That would allow school boards to raise local property taxes to get more money for schools.
"If a school district because of their frustration that the Legislature won't force a tax increase on them would like the authority to consider a tax increase on their local community, they can do that," he said.
The move would result in higher property taxes to support public education, opponents said.
"That is a shift that state aid will be made up in property taxes," said Diane Gjerstad, lobbyist for the Wichita school district. "That is a significant policy change that will result in higher property taxes across the entire state."
Schools are now funded with income and property taxes.
Ward said the shift was disingenuous to voters who wouldn't recognize where the property tax increase really came from.
"By shifting it down to the locals where the only thing they can do is raise property taxes, they (the voters) aren't going to know that this is a tax increase caused by Topeka," he said.
While the House committee was talking about cutting the budget, a Senate committee was debating raising taxes.
That proposal went nowhere.
The Senate Assessment and Taxation Committee failed to approve anything in a bundle of tax increase bills.
The original plan was to increase taxes on cigarettes, alcohol and sugary drinks, and raise the overall sales tax by a penny.
While raising taxes was not a pleasant idea, "we're not in that luxury position at this time", said Sen. Les Donovan, R-Wichita, who chairs the committee.
Sen. Chris Steineger, D-Kansas City, said that while he did not want to see schools cut more, "I would rather see a little more trimmed out of the budget before I am forced to raise taxes."
Both chambers will likely debate their budget proposals next week.
Eventually, a panel of lawmakers from both the House and the Senate will meet to work out differences in the plans for a compromise bill.
