Leave university budgets alone

Now the Senate Ways and Means Committee thinks it knows better than the Kansas Board of Regents and university presidents how higher education funding should be allocated.

The committee advanced a higher ed budget Thursday that cuts $4.7 million from the University of Kansas and $3.1 million from Kansas State University each of the next two fiscal years. The budget then adds $3.7 million each year to fund expansion of the KU School of Medicine-Wichita and $1 million each year for the medical school scholarships and loan fund. It also adds $2 million for Pittsburg State University’s School of Transportation and $2 million to the Kansas Comprehensive Grant program.

The funding shifts follows a 2 percent budget cut to higher education that Gov. Sam Brownback announced last month.

The additional support of Wichita’s medical school campus is needed, but it should come as a result of thoughtful, coordinated planning. It shouldn’t come from cannibalizing the budgets of other universities.

For the editorial board, Phillip Brownlee

This story was originally published March 5, 2015 at 6:06 PM with the headline "Leave university budgets alone."