Brownback’s $600M school spending plan called reckless by GOP leaders

Gov. Sam Brownback came under extraordinary attack from high-ranking members of his own party after he proposed increasing education spending by $600 million but gave no plan for how to pay for it.

One Senate Republican leader said the governor had made the state’s school funding problem a “hell of a lot worse.”

The second-term governor delivered his final State of the State speech on Tuesday, where he outlined the plan to boost funding for K-12 public schools over five years. He said his plan would not include tax increases, but otherwise gave no details. Administration officials will fully unveil Brownback’s budget proposal on Wednesday.

Top Republicans slammed his proposal as unrealistic and irresponsible. Lawmakers must approve spending levels and the immediate opposition suggested Brownback will face an uphill climb in getting his proposal passed.

“I know he’s trying to get to Washington, D.C. He’s not there yet, but he continues to try to lead like he’s in Washington, D.C. and he must not have got the memo that we don’t print money in Kansas and that we live within our means,” said Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning. “So he’s put us in a very bad spot. His financial acumen as we know is very low, but this is reckless.”

“He’s giving everybody a sense of false hope that he’s just solved the school issue when he’s made it a hell of a lot worse.”

Senate President Susan Wagle, R-Wichita, said she had a budget review with the governor earlier Tuesday and called Brownback’s budget “clearly a very political budget.”

“It’s clearly one that we can’t afford without a major tax increase next year,” she said.

Wagle took issue with the governor’s actions in 2017 when she said Brownback “fought hard” against a balanced budget, denigrated people who voted for the tax increase and then came out and with more spending.

“It’s very disingenuous of him,” Wagle said after Tuesday’s speech.

And Sen. Carolyn McGinn, the Republican chairwoman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, said “those numbers don’t add up, and they don’t balance.”

The $600 million increase proposed by Brownback represents the full amount wanted by attorneys who are representing school districts suing the state over funding. The Kansas Supreme Court ruled this fall that schools are inadequately funded under the state constitution.

“We have received the decree of the Kansas Supreme Court and are putting forth a proposal to comply, as we have done with the prior decisions,” Brownback said.

Brownback said that results are expected from the additional funding, and he calls for beating the average teacher pay of Kansas’ neighboring states, boosting the number of school counselors and that every high school student should be able to take the ACT exam at no additional cost to parents.

“Six-hundred million dollars is a very significant investment,” Brownback said. “And Kansans expect to see students in every school in our state thrive and achieve, particularly our students who the court cited as being inadequately served under our current funding.”

Brownback also called for lawmakers to put a constitutional amendment before voters this year in order to end what he called “the never-ending cycle of litigation” on school finance.

Rep. Melissa Rooker, a moderate Fairway Republican who focuses on education, was critical of the way the governor proposed the boost after a contentious legislative session last year where he resisted a roll back of his earlier tax cuts until he was finally overridden.

It’s nothing more than a feel good talking point if Brownback’s going to throw the figure out there without any proposal to go along with it that details where that money might come from, she said.

“I like puppies, and I like unicorns,” Rooker said. “But, you know, I don’t know what the substance of this proposal actually looks like.”

In a change, Brownback’s speech received better reviews among some Democratic lawmakers. Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, D-Topeka, said the $600 million figure was a good starting point.

Sen. Oletha Faust-Goudeau, D-Wichita, said she was pleased with the size of the education spending increase put forward. Still, she remained skeptical, saying “the proof is in the pudding.”

Rep. Kathy Wolfe Moore, D-Kansas City, said she was thrilled by the $600 million figure, but wants to know how Brownback plans to balance the budget.

“I don’t know why he changed his mind, I’m not sure why he said that,” Wolfe Moore said. “But I’m very happy that he did. The devil will be in the details.”

It was not always clear that Brownback would give the State of the State speech. President Donald Trump nominated Brownback to be ambassador at large for international religious freedom in July, but the confirmation process has moved forward slowly and it’s unclear when the U.S. Senate will vote.

In the meantime, Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer asserted more power than a typical lieutenant. He named the new secretary of the Department for Children and Families and led efforts to put together a budget proposal.

That led to speculation that perhaps Colyer would give the State of the State speech and that maybe Brownback would resign prior to his confirmation.

Brownback put the rumors to rest last week, saying he would remain governor until he is confirmed. And aides said the budget proposal his administration will unveil on Wednesday has his approval.

Brownback made few policy proposals beyond education. Instead, he spoke at length about how he views Kansas as a “dreamer’s paradise.”

“I dream of reconciliation between the races. Where our problems aren’t ignored by addressed. Where people of goodwill view the past and present with clear-eyed honesty and resolve to make things right,” Brownback said. “This is an honest discussion our country desperately needs.”

This story was originally published January 9, 2018 at 5:17 PM with the headline "Brownback’s $600M school spending plan called reckless by GOP leaders."