Education

 House Bill

The House of Representatives passed its K-12 education bill, HB 2474, by a vote of 78-44 on March 4.  The bill moves the base state aid per pupil (BSAPP) from $3,863 to $4,187.  The bill will also infuse roughly $116 million of new money into K-12 education in Kansas. 

 According to projections by the Kansas Legislative Research Department, Louisburg will receive an additional $244,221, Osawatomie an additional $217,886, Paola an additional $401,577, and Spring Hill an additional $300,164.  The two amendments I supported that reinstated the full funding of vocational weighting are vitally important to our Miami County schools.  A breakdown of additional funds may be found in the chart comparing the two plans.

 The bill includes language that will allow districts with a high cost of living to raise additional funds to increase teacher salaries, allowing districts such as Louisburg and Spring Hill, the means to retain quality teachers.

 HB 2474 calls for the creation of an advisory Education Council.  This group, made up of members of the legislative, business, and education communities, will be tasked with the study and implementation of educating our children more completely and efficiently.

 A unique aspect of HB 2474 is that it will be implemented without a tax increase.  A built-in funding mechanism will tie all future increases in funding to the Consumer Price Index (CPI).  Increases in CPI correlate with inflation rate increases.  Tying potential increases to a specific formula will place secure funding as a priority that will occur at the beginning of each future legislative session.  We must be dedicated to developing a long term solution for investment in our children’s education. 

Senate Bill

The Senate has also passed its K-12 education bill, S 245, by a vote of 29-10 on March 3.  The bill increases the BSAPP from $3,863 to $3,983.  The bill will infuse over $147 million of new money into K-12 education in Kansas. 

According to projections by the Kansas Legislative Research Department, under the Senate Bill, Louisburg would receive an additional $301,262, Paola an additional $528,350, Osawatomie an additional $322,113, and Spring Hill an additional $319,864.  As introduced, vocational funding weighing was to be deleted, but the Senate has restored full vocational funding.  The correlation weighting threshold, which is currently at 1,725 students will be lowered to 1,700.  A breakdown of additional funds may be found in the chart below.

The Senate has passed two additional K-12 education bills.  S 244, which passed on March 3 by a vote of 32-7, would create the 2010 Commission.  The Commission would monitor the implementation and operation of school finance legislation to ensure that the public school system is maintained in a manner that promotes constant and improved levels of measurable student achievement.  S 245, which passed on March 3 by a vote of 34-5, creates the School District Audit Team.  The Team would conduct annual performance audits of selected school districts.  The performance audits would cover items such as the accuracy of school expenditures, district use of state funding, whether funding levels are keeping up with actual costs, and options for modifying the school funding formula. 

SB contains no revenue producing measures beyond the renewal of the 20-mill school district property tax levy.  This levy must be renewed every two years. 

 Additional Funding Breakdown by District

 House Bill

District             BSAPP      At Risk       Special Ed.       Equalized          Total

                                                                                    Capital Outlay

Louisburg         125,584     38,939       60,324             19,374             244,221

Osawatomie     111,528     64,899       41,459             0                      217,886

Paola                164,536     49,407       94,200             93,434             401,577

Spring Hill        133,736     32,659       62,995             70,774             300,164

Senate Bill

District             BSAPP      At Risk       Special Ed.       Correlation       Total

                                                                                    Change                        

Louisburg         218,616     22,703       59,943             0                      301,262

Osawatomie     190,104     90,812       41,197             0                      322,113

Paola                287,376     73,287       93,603             74,084             528,350

Spring Hill        228,192     29,076       62,596             0                      319,864

  It is always a pleasure to see friendly faces at the Capitol, so please let me know if you are in the area and would like to stop by.  Also, new pictures of my family, including our newest addition, our dog Gussie Mae, can be found on my website www.jenevickrey.org.  Again, thank you for your continued support and if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.