A new report by the Center of Budget and Policy Priorities states that Kansas ranks as the fourth worst state in the country in depth of cuts to school funding since the start of the recession.
“We clearly have needs to improve our performance across Kansas,” said Mark Tallman, the associate executive director of the Kansas Association of School Boards.
Thursday afternoon, parents and educators met for a special meeting of the Andover Parent Legislative Council.
In Tallman’s presentation, he said state aid to school districts was reduced by more than $400 million from the 2008-09 to the 2009-10 academic years. At the same time, federal stimulus money helped aid the state by $300 million, which was used to help pay for base state aid, local option budget aid and special education state aid.
“We’ve generally had an improvement for about a decade as we added funding in real terms. As funding has leveled off, our performance has leveled off,” Tallman said.
Still, Kansas schools are about $100 million under budget, and cuts to education may have lasting effects on the quality of education, Tallman said. Typically, Kansas ranks as a top-15 state in terms of academic achievement. However, in recent years, scores have slipped in standardized tests like the ACT.
Tallman said a big part of the problem is that funding, even with small increases in the past year, are not necessarily going directly to students. Some of those funds have been shifted to other district priorities, like paying for teacher retirement funds and other federal and state requirements.
“I’m frustrated that we’re rebounding, that we could have more money available, but the legislature is not restoring some of those cuts,” said Andover parent Laura Roddy. “I understand that in the recession, some tough decisions had to be made and there were cuts, but we are recovering now, and I find it frustrating that we’re not seeing a corresponding increase in school funding, particularly in school funding that can go toward operating budgets.”
Roddy has two children in Andover schools. She said districts need to reconsider funding now, so it can make a solid investment in the state’s future.
“We need to make sure that we’re investing our dollars where they count, and I think investing our money in public education is one of the best ways we can spend our public funding,” she said.