Block grants not simple, certain
Gov. Sam Brownback had used the word “simple” in his State of the State address to describe his idea to repeal the school-finance formula and “appropriate money directly to school districts” for the next two years until lawmakers can come up with a better way to fund K-12 education.
But the resulting identical bills, revealed last week, are neither simple nor certain to lead to the governor’s desired “time-out in the school finance wars.”
The long-awaited House Bill 2403 and Senate Bill 273 raised concerns and questions, as districts tried to understand the impact of the 97 pages of legislation on their budgets in advance of hearings this week.
It is hard to see much evidence that the new bill will deliver the dollars that districts actually will need to educate their growing student enrollments between now and 2017. GOP lawmakers boasted about restoring a $28 million cut to base aid that Brownback ordered last month, but they neglected to mention that their plan cuts $51 million in other current-year funding.
The largest district in the state, Wichita’s USD 259, reportedly will see $4.8 million less funding for the current school year than anticipated. The plan also doesn’t adequately account for projected cost increases next year for utilities and other items.
And the touted flexibility has its limits. Much of the $300 million being cited as increased funding is the state contributing to school employees’ pensions, and the bill comes with other rules. Won’t dropping the “weightings” that have helped equalize funding and educational opportunities statewide just exacerbate inequities? And what’s to be the source of any new money for schools, given the state’s revenue shortfall?
As House Appropriations Committee Chairman Ron Ryckman Jr., R-Olathe, spoke about the block grant legislation last week, he implied the editorial boards of The Wichita Eagle and Kansas City Star presume to know “the best way” to educate his children. (Hardly. The Eagle editorial board just knows that in recent years the state has failed to fund the school-finance formula in a manner consistent either with the constitution’s language and court rulings or with districts’ expenses, enrollments, and federal and state achievement mandates.)
But Ryckman also declared that it’s time for school districts to be heard at the Statehouse. If he’s serious, he will persuade legislative leaders to better respect school districts and the State Board of Education in general.
No more attempts to repeal the Common Core educational standards. No more meddling in sex ed or threatening to prosecute teachers. Just trusting in local control and, like the state constitution says, fulfilling the Legislature’s role of making “suitable provision for finance of the educational interests of the state.”
As the legislation makes its way through committees and to the full chambers of the Legislature, lawmakers and the governor must be certain that it meets, rather than sidesteps, that constitutional mandate. And school district leaders, teachers, parents and other taxpayers need to be part of the debate.
For the editorial board, Rhonda Holman
This story was originally published March 7, 2015 at 6:06 PM with the headline "Block grants not simple, certain."