By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
ELLIS — Gov. Laura Kelly was at Ellis High School on Thursday to discuss the needs of rural public schools, including the need for more special education funding.
The Kansas Legislature has tied special education funding to a school voucher program that would divert money from public schools to private education.
Kansas law requires the state to pay 92 percent of what the federal government does not pay for special education.
The state is currently funding special education statewide at 72 percent of the cost beyond federal funding. This leaves local districts to pay for the shortfall from their general fund budgets.
Kyle Carlin is the director of the West Central Kansas Special Education Cooperative, which covers Ellis, Hays, Victoria and La Crosse.
"The current gap is $1 million, but that is with us making some tough decisions about not spending money as much as we should," Carlin said of the local co=op's budget. ... "We could be better if we were funded better."
Carlin said it is more difficult for smaller school districts to make up these budget deficits.
Ellis is underfunded by $85,000, which would be the equivalent of a teacher and an aide, Carlin said. Ellis is facing budget cuts, which could include laying off teachers next year, because of declining enrollment.
Kelly put money in her beginning-of-the-year budget to phase in full funding for the state's portion of special education within five years.
She said the federal government also is not fully funding its portion of special education. The federal government is supposed to be funding 20 percent of special education costs and it is averaging about 12 percent, Carlin said.
John Befort, Ellis' Washington Elementary School principal, said more children, including his own son, are qualifying for special education. Those services often last through K-12 education.
Befort also expressed frustration after attending a recent legislative coffee about the lack of response on education from local legislators, none of whom joined the roundtable Thursday.
Adequate infrastructure and housing in rural communities also are needed to maintain enrollments, members of the roundtable said.
Travis Kohlrus, parent, said a housing addition was built about 20 years ago in Ellis. Initially, that resulted in increases in enrollment. The children of those families have aged out of the school system and enrollment is declining again.
Randy Honas, school board president, said the cost of infrastructure is huge for small communities.
"You don't get the tax revenue returned quickly enough for any developer or any community to expend enough money to get the infrastructure there," Honas said.
Kelly said the state is investing in moderate-income housing to provide homes for workers in new industries in Kansas.
Honas also expressed frustration that Ellis did not receive any state aid to supplement its recent bond issue. The state calculates valuations by county, so Hays' property is used to determine aid for Ellis. The Ellis school district has a much lower property valuation than Hays.
Kelly also discussed strategies to recruit and train new teachers in Kansas to meet teacher shortages. One of the programs allows paraeducators to train to be teachers while continuing to work in schools. The program does not require an unpaid practicum.
The state is recognizing teaching licenses from surrounding states as well as making it easier for military spouses to teach here.
State officials also are trying to devise ways to allow teachers who have reached their KPERS retirement maximum to continue to teach without hurting the stability of the retirement system.
Disclosure: Travis Kohlrus serves on the Eagle Communications board of directors. Hays Post is owned and operated by Eagle.