A state panel has approved a total of $6 million in additional funding for Kansas school districts. Nearly 40 districts requested money to cover lower property values or climbing enrollment. As Stephen Koranda reports, the districts received around half of what they were asking for.
The panel trimmed back the requests for the so-called “extraordinary needs” funding to make sure they were really focusing on out-of-the-ordinary situations.
One of the panel members, Gov. Sam Brownback, said the key is determining what level of increased enrollment represents an extraordinary need.
“Is a 1 percent student population increase extraordinary? As the debate goes forward, it seems like that’s something that most places would be able to handle. Two percent? That would be extraordinary,” says Brownback.
Senate President Susan Wagle pushed for the 2 percent cutoff.
“Anything above 2 percent, I felt like that was fair, I felt like that was generous and clearly it was within the definition of extraordinary,” Wagle says.
The 2 percent growth rule completely eliminated three districts that had asked for more funding. Bonner Springs Superintendent Dan Brungardt says they’ll have to educate 40 more students with no extra money.
“As we increase students we increase needs. We‘re adding additionally five teachers this year for the same amount of money as last year. That comes from somewhere else and that’ll just make less of everything else we have,” Brungardt says.
Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools requested $2 million to cover more than 500 new students. They received $400,000. Superintendent Cynthia Lane says that puts them in a tough spot.
“Five hundred kids, less than a thousand dollars each. That’s going to be a huge challenge for us to find the resources to make sure that every one of those children receives high-quality support,” Lane says.
Almost all the districts that requested additional aid received some new money.
