Pension funding doesn’t help schools pay bills

The Legislature and Gov. Sam Brownback deserve credit for increasing state funding to the state’s pension plan. But should that be counted as increased school funding, as Brownback argues? Wichita superintendent John Allison said he likened it this way recently to a citizen: If for many years your employer didn’t contribute to Social Security the full amount he was required (as the state failed to do for decades with its pension system), then he finally began paying extra to try to make up that deficit, would you consider that a pay increase? Of course not. The extra pension funding is appreciated and overdue, but it does not help schools pay their bills. – Phillip Brownlee

This story was originally published September 12, 2014 at 3:14 PM with the headline "Pension funding doesn’t help schools pay bills."