School Funding Stuff

I got so caught up in Darwin Day festivities last week that I haven't posted on the school funding issues lately. Let me try to bring you up to date as best I can.

1. Governor Sebelius proposed a budget that would, in essence, cut school funding by $11 per pupil.

2. The state senate brought forward a bill that slashed state funding across the board. This would have resulted in a cut to schools of about $117 per student. On the floor of the senate, bi-partisan amendments were proposed and accepted that reduced this amount to $33 per student.

3. The house of representatives brought forward a bill that would cut funding by $88 per pupil. On the floor, amendments were accepted that reduced this cut to $66. These cuts would include cuts to special education.

4. A committee of senators and representatives met to iron out the differences in the two chambers' bills. The senate refused to budge from their school cuts. There was also some disagreement on funding for certain social services. Unable to reach an agreement, the committee is adjourned.

5. House and senate leaders push through a "compromised" bill that is essential the same bill passed by the house. Cuts to schools are $66 per pupil, and would also affect special education. The bill is then sent on to the governor for signing. At the time, there was speculation about what she would do. Her options were a) sign the bill into law, b) veto the bill outright, or c)sign the bill but use her power to line-item veto those things that she doesn't like.

Last week, the State of Kansas stopped issuing income tax refunds due to budget shortfalls. Yesterday, the leadership of the Kansas house and senate refused to allow Governor Sebelius to borrow some money to cover these expenses, along with the state payroll which goes out later this week, unless she first signed the budget bill into law. This left the state of Kansas at a stalemate, with thousands of government employers at risk of not getting paid on time.

Today, it was announced that the leadership of the legislature was willing to meet with the governor to discuss the borrowing of money. This seems to be good news. Also this afternoon, the governor signed the budget bill (actually called a "recision" bill) into law, but line-item vetoed the school funding cuts, including the special education cuts, and replaced them with cuts of $33 that matched the bi-partisan bill passed by the senate. I'm sure this stuff will continue to develop in the next few days, and I'll do my best (in a biology teacher-not-a-government-guy type of way) to keep this blog updated.

It's important that we keep the following in mind:
1. These cuts affect the CURRENT SCHOOL YEAR. They have only begun preliminary work on the budget that will cover the 09-10 school year.
2. The money to cover expenses would be borrowed using a "certificate of indebtedness." It's my understanding that these are used relatively frequently to cover short-term funding shortfalls.
3. When the legislative leadership demanded that the governor sign the budget recision bill before they approved the certificate of indebtedness, the governor had not yet received the bill, much less had a chance to review it.
4. Advocacy for one group should not imply opposition for other groups. By advocating for public education I do not stand if opposition to other state programs such as higher education. It is the governments responsibility to fund each and every program that they have established. In times of revenue shortfalls, cutting those programs (especially in the middle of a fiscal year) cannot be the only options discussed.