By LESLIE EIKLEBERRY
Salina Post
As Kansas Governor Laura Kelly sees it, K-12 funding is the most important issue left in this legislative session. And as legislators return to the statehouse this week to close out the 2023 session, Kelly is hopeful that lawmakers will see the need to fully fund K-12 public schools, as has been done the past four years.
Kelly discussed the importance of fully funding K-12 public schools during an exclusive interview with Salina Post Tuesday afternoon.
The 2024 budget Kelly presented in January included fully funding K-12 schools for the fifth year in a row. Additionally, Kelly included $72.4 million from the State General Fund as the first installment of a proposed five-year plan to raise state aid for special education to 92 percent by fiscal year 2028. An additional $72.4 million from the State General Fund would be dedicated to special education each subsequent year of the plan.
Thus far, Kansas lawmakers have had other ideas, proposing a measure that could decrease aid to school districts across the state and not include a funding increase for special education.
As an example, Kelly said the three public school districts in Saline County combined would lose more than $5 million.
While the legislature has yet to pass the proposal, Kelly said she believes lawmakers will make another attempt to pass it. She encouraged citizens to contact their legislators and tell them to fully fund K-12 public schools as has been done in the last four years.
Kelly also encouraged citizens to request that the $72.4 million for special education be included in the budget. She explained that special education services are mandated by law. While some funding comes from the federal government, any additional funding necessary to provide the mandated services would need to come out of the school districts' budgets, regardless of at what level they are funded.
Kelly said she is hopeful that legislators will end up fully funding K-12 public schools.
"Just look at our past history. We have fully funded the schools for the last four years. And I know that there are a lot of legislators, particularly those in the rural areas, who understand how bad the legislative proposal is there, to those schools, because all of these moves would be most detrimental to the rural school districts," she said.
Kelly said she believes many legislators are looking forward to voting for fully funding schools.
"I think we'll get there. I just think we're going to have to play a whole lot of games," she said. "And I think it would be helpful if people in our local communities would get in touch with their legislators to express their support for fully funding our schools and special education and encouraging them to act quickly to get this done."
Kelly said that in the long term, without the education system in the state of Kansas, "not a whole lot else matters. This is really the foundation of our state."
Kelly who has been a staunch proponent of growing the state's business base, said that when businesses are considering establishing locations in Kansas, they look at the state's education system.
"I think they do it for a variety of reasons. One, obviously, is workforce. They have to have a trained workforce, and who does that but our school system, whether it's getting our kids through general high school programs or going into our tech schools, our community colleges, or our four-year institutions. That's where businesses get their workforce, and so they want them educated, trained, and ready to work," Kelly said.
Additionally, Kelly noted that Kansas is attracting more high-tech companies that also need a research component.