© 2024 KMUW
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Local coverage of education issues, health care, and science and technology.

Lawmakers Begin Studying Kansas School Funding

Stephen Koranda
/
KPR/File Photo

A group of Kansas lawmakers Friday took a deep look at teacher salaries and benefits. The panel is gathering information to help legislators write a new school funding formula.

Republican Representative Ron Highland says they’re studying student performance and how state education money is spent, but the committee itself won’t be writing the new school funding plan.

“We’re going to gather the information and then the money wonks they will be working on that, but they’ve got to have this information to solidify what they want to do,” he says.

The committee will produce a set of recommendations for lawmakers to consider. Legislators threw out the old school funding formula earlier this year and replaced it with temporary block grants.

Stephen Koranda is the managing editor of the Kansas News Service, based at KCUR. He has nearly 20 years of experience in public media as a reporter and editor.