Kansas views on state revenue shortfall, block grants, Supreme Court, FHSU growth, Ike statue
Revenue shortfall – Gov. Sam Brownback and his supporters have trotted out several excuses for why state revenues are falling short of expectations, which has happened in all three months of the fiscal year that began July 1. August receipts were disappointing, Revenue Secretary Nick Jordan said, because the state had paid out “unanticipated refunds” to businesses. Jordan said the September shortfall was largely caused by the “dramatic drop in oil, gas and farm income experienced across the Midwest.” Brownback said the already alarming overall shortage of $67 million in tax revenues was partly the fault of a slow U.S. economy. Brownback rejected any repeal of the excessive income tax cuts he approved in 2012, which in truth are the biggest cause of the continuing revenue woes. Many Kansans understand that fact, of course, because they can look around the nation and see what’s happening in states that didn’t dramatically slash taxes with hopes of magically causing a surge of new jobs and revenues.
Block grants – The Lawrence school district is receiving the same amount of state funding as last year but is being asked to serve 249 more students. That’s the equivalent of about 10 elementary school classes and about one more student for every teacher in the district, but the district has no additional funding to hire teachers or provide space for those students. Lawrence school officials say that, under the old per-pupil formula, the district would have received an additional $450,000 this year. Flat school funding for the next two years and uncertainty about what kind of formula the Legislature will come up with after that make this a challenging time for local school officials.
Supreme Court – As part of a mission to familiarize more Kansans with the state judiciary system, the Kansas Supreme Court heard cases last week at Garden City High School. It was the high court’s first Garden City visit in its 154-year history, and just its second night session. Every Kansan should appreciate the justices’ intellectual understanding of the law, and decision-making based on as much. The Supreme Court visit was an extraordinary educational opportunity in giving students and adults a glimpse of the process. And with the state judiciary wrongly targeted by partisan interests, Kansans also should want to better understand the role of the courts.
College growth – The number of students enrolled in Kansas institutions of higher learning has declined almost 1.5 percent since last year. But to nobody’s surprise in this region, Fort Hays State University posted a 2.78 percent increase – setting yet-another school record for enrollment. At the same time, Northwest Kansas Technical College increased its student body by an astonishing 20.4 percent. High school graduates in this corner of the state long have been fortunate to have two great institutions from which to choose.
Ike statue – Gov. Sam Brownback, and apparently many other people, would like to see a statue of Dwight D. Eisenhower grace the Capitol grounds. Go for it. There really isn’t much not to like about Eisenhower, and honoring him with a statue on the Statehouse grounds would be a nice tribute.
This story was originally published October 18, 2015 at 7:07 PM with the headline "Kansas views on state revenue shortfall, block grants, Supreme Court, FHSU growth, Ike statue."