KASB Blog: School Board Members Invited to Start of Special Legislative Session to Address School Finance

School board members invited to attend start of special session

With a special session on school finance starting Thursday, the KASB Executive Committee is inviting school board members to come to Topeka to urge legislators to do what is needed to ensure Kansas students are successful.

KASB President Don Shimkus and President-elect Amy Martin issued a joint statement, saying, “Our calm, respectful presence will bolster the legislators working to protect schools. And encourage the rest to do the right thing. For the right reason.”

The special session starts at 8 a.m. Thursday. Those coming to the Statehouse can meet in the Visitor’s Center, which KASB has secured from 8 a.m. to noon. A joint meeting of the House and Senate budget committees will start at 9 a.m. in room 346-South. That meeting is expected to go to at least noon and will be followed by a House Appropriations Committee meeting on school finance legislation in room 114-North.

It is crucial legislators hear from school board members, who as community leaders and knowledgeable advocates for education, are uniquely qualified to provide information that will help legislators make the right decisions.

Board members are needed to provide a strong presence to our Legislature by wearing their school shirts to show support, attend and observe House and Senate sessions in the gallery, get other board members and concerned parents to travel to Topeka and be a source of information for legislators and the media.

Gov. Sam Brownback called the Legislature back into session to address the Kansas Supreme Court’s school finance decision in which the court directed the state to fix equity funding.

As legislators return to work, the session will likely be contentious with many competing ideas and special interests on how to address the court ruling. Many groups have scheduled rallies. School board members must encourage legislators and keep them focused on what is needed to protect and improve our excellent Kansas public schools.

Please also follow media reports and KASB, through News Briefs, Twitter and Facebook to stay abreast of developments during the session. If you plan to travel to the Statehouse on Thursday, please contact KASB.  KASB will always be available to provide informal information and briefings on developments during the special session.

KASB Blog: Judiciary Committees End Pre-Session; Democrats Unveil Finance Plan

House, Senate judiciary committees end pre-session meeting; Democrats unveil school finance plan

After two days of meeting, Republican majorities on the House and Senate judiciary committees declined to endorse recommending compliance with the Kansas Supreme Court ruling on school finance and instead, at least on the Senate side, teed up debate for a proposed constitutional amendment to prohibit the court from closing schools.

The committees met jointly Thursday and Friday to consider possible school funding changes and possible constitutional amendments in preparation for the start of a special legislative session on June 23 to address a ruling from the court that the Legislature fix equity funding to schools by June 30, the end of the fiscal year.

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved recommending that when the session starts, a proposed constitutional amendment be introduced that will prohibit the court or the Legislature from closing a school as part of a remedy in school finance litigation.

State Sen. Jeff King, R-Independence, and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the amendment is needed to prevent a disruption of schools but Democrats said limiting what the court can use as a remedy would destroy the balance of power between the three branches of government and deny Kansans the right to seek redress of wrongs in the court. The House Judiciary Committee made no recommendation on proposed constitutional amendments.

Any amendment to the Kansas Constitution would require two-thirds majorities in the House and Senate before being placed on the ballot. Officials said if an amendment were approved during the special session, it would be on the Nov. 8 ballot for consideration. There is already a state law that prohibits the state Supreme Court from closing schools.

On the issue of school finance, both the House and Senate judiciary committees approved sending to each chamber's respective budget committees, the minutes, from the two days of meetings, but without any recommendations. A specific motion before the House Judiciary Committee to recommend the House Appropriations Committee raise $38 million to comply with the court ruling was defeated by Republicans as Democrats and several Republicans voted for it.

Both judiciary committees also said they would study further whether to try to fashion a so-called "hold harmless" provision to keep funding level for districts that might lose some funding in an equity fix.

Meanwhile, House and Senate Democrats unveiled a plan to fund approximately $39 million in response to the court's equity ruling.

The proposal would use $15.2 million from the current extraordinary needs fund, $13 million from a job creation fund in the Kansas Department of Commerce, $7.3 million by freezing the level of funding for virtual school funding, $3 million from federal welfare funds and $750,000 now set aside for tax credits for private school scholarships.

The Democrats also said they would oppose proposed constitutional amendments aimed at limiting the Kansas Supreme Court.

"It's beyond time for us to get to work to address the real problem so that all Kansas children, no matter where they live in Kansas, have access to a quality education next school year," said Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley of Topeka.

Democrats are vastly outnumbered by Republicans, 32-8 in the Senate and 98-27 in the House.

KASB UPDATE: Education advocates urge compliance with court ruling on school finance; committee discussion Friday

Education advocates urge compliance with court ruling on school finance; committee discussion Friday

Education advocates on Thursday urged legislators to raise the necessary funds to comply with a Kansas Supreme Court order on school finance and to leave the court alone. But powerful interest groups and leading state officials have proposed constitutional amendments aimed at the court and they say the recent ruling on school equity can be met within existing appropriations to the school system.

Testimony on school finance and the judicial battle was given to the House and Senate judiciary committees, which conducted a joint meeting in the run-up to the special legislative session that starts June 23. The joint committee meeting will continue Friday in which legislators will discuss possible recommendations to the full Legislature.

Last month, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled the Legislature's school finance law failed to provide enough equity funding to poor districts and said an unconstitutional school finance system couldn't extend beyond June 30, the end of the fiscal year. Gov. Sam Brownback and his Republican allies said the court was threatening to close schools and needed to be reined in.

But on Thursday, school groups, including KASB, and education advocates recommended that legislators quickly comply with the court ruling and allocate anywhere from $38 million to $50 million deemed necessary. Here is a link to testimony before the committee.

The school representatives said the Legislature should avoid even the possibility of school closures, saying a shutdown would have a devastating impact on schools, parents, students and the state.

David Smith, a spokesman for Kansas City USD 500, pleaded with legislators, noting that most of his district's students come from impoverished backgrounds and are relying on public school education to "realize the American dream."

KASB, United School Administrators of Kansas, the Kansas School Superintendents Association, representatives of Kansas City, Wichita and Pratt school districts recommended restoration of equity formulas already approved by the court. For districts that could lose funding by returning to previous Local Option Budget equalization, the groups said they would support a "hold harmless" provision if it were provided to all districts in similar circumstances. Later in the day, Johnson County chambers of commerce and school officials from Blue Valley, De Soto, Gardner-Edgerton, Olathe and Shawnee Mission recommended the previous LOB formula and hold harmless.

But the Kansas Chamber, which is the state's largest business lobbying organization, said the funding to provide equity could be taken from schools' "unencumbered funds" and distributed by the Kansas State Department of Education. The Kansas Policy Institute, a group that frequently opposes school spending, recommended legislators use existing school funds even if that meant taking money away from some districts and giving it to others. KPI also said if schools are closed during the current funding dispute, then the state should issue vouchers for students to go to public or private schools.

On the issue of proposed constitutional amendments, state Sen. Jeff King, R-Independence and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, passed to committee members a measure that would prohibit the Kansas Supreme Court or Legislature from closing schools. To amend the Kansas Constitution requires a two-thirds vote in the House and Senate and majority vote during an election.

Kansas Chamber President Mike O'Neal, who is a former speaker of the Kansas House, said the chamber supports such a proposal. KPI said the Legislature should consider an amendment to remove the word "suitable" from the portion of the Kansas Constitution that requires the Legislature to "make suitable provision for the finance of the educational interests of the state."

The Kansas Bar Association submitted testimony that said the notion the court is threatening to close schools is misguided and that the court found the Legislature's law doesn't comply with Kansas Constitution. An attorney for the Kansas Legislative Research Department told legislators the court has many options to enforce the ruling short of closing schools.

Several education advocacy groups said any amendment that would limit remedies of the Kansas Supreme Court would weaken state government and the ability of Kansans to seek judicial redress for wrongs.

The KASB Delegate Assembly adopted a resolution that says, "We support the role of an independent judiciary in enforcing constitutional provisions. We oppose either changing the selection process for judges or limiting the ability of the courts to enforce those provisions, which would weaken the traditional separation of powers in Kansas."

Mark Tallman, associate executive director for advocacy at KASB, said, “The people of Kansas placed the requirement for suitable finance of the educational interests of the state in the state constitution precisely in order to provide a higher standard than ordinary legislative majorities. A constitutional right or requirement that cannot be enforced is not right at all.”

KCEG Blog: The Big Shift

The Big Shift By Kansas Center for Economic Growth Senior Fellow Duane Goossen The income tax cuts of 2012 that continue to wreak havoc on the Kansas budget did not actually yield a reduction in taxes for many Kansans. Lawmakers raised other taxes and fees to partially offset the loss of income tax revenue. The net result: Wealthy Kansans still benefited, but the overall tax burden for a wide range of working Kansans went up.   The newest shift cropped up at the end of the legislative session. As a result of income tax cuts, Kansas cannot afford enough highway patrol troopers, so legislators passed a bill to raise vehicle registration fees to cover the cost of hiring more.   But that's a small example of the shift in progress. The following list shows the more consequential changes implemented in the attempt to compensate for income tax cuts: Sales tax raised from 5.7% to 6.15% and then raised further to 6.5%; Renters no longer eligible for homestead property tax refunds; Food sales tax rebates limited; Child care income tax credit, along with many other credits, eliminated (for those who still pay income tax); Cigarette tax raised; and Many income tax deductions limited (for those who still pay income tax). The chart below estimates the average net effect of all the tax changes (the figures come from the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy, which has the best model for measuring these types of changes in any state).  Kansans with the lowest income have seen their tax burden go up. For middle-income Kansans, it's been about a wash. Upper-income Kansans, especially those earning more than $500,000 annually, have come out well.   Of course, a sales tax hike takes a far bigger bite out of a small income than a large one. Lower-income Kansans spend a much higher proportion of their resources on food and other items subject to sales tax than wealthy Kansans do. Many states exempt food purchases from sales tax, or at least apply a lower rate. Not Kansas. We now have the highest sales tax rate on food in the nation.   The chart does not even count other kinds of shifts taking place. Property taxes push up as schools and local governments try to react to dwindling state resources. Tuition rises at universities when the state withdraws support. Future taxpayers get saddled with debt because the state borrows to pay for retirement system costs, and borrows through the highway fund to shore up the general fund.   However, even with all this shifting, Kansas remains broke. The hole created by the income tax cuts has been so significant that shifts to other tax sources have not come close to stabilizing the state's finances.   Income tax cuts benefited the wealthiest Kansans, but without any obligation to create a job or even spend their tax savings in Kansas. In return, the state received financial turmoil. Many Kansans now pay more to fund state government at the same time that school class sizes go up and highway maintenance gets put aside.   If you are a Kansan and do not feel like you've had a tax cut, that's because you probably did not get one.    # # #   See KCEG's latest research & analysis, including briefs, infographics and other blogs, on our website.

Kansas Center for Economic Growth 720 SW Jackson St, Ste 203 Topeka, Kansas 66603

KASB Report: Governor Brownback Will Call Special Session

Brownback will call special session but date unknown

Eleven days after the Kansas Supreme Court said the new school finance equity law was unconstitutional, Gov. Sam Brownback said he would call a special legislative session to address the ruling and also repeated his criticism of the court.

Brownback said on Tuesday the special session would be later this month, adding that he would set a specific date later. Some legislators have said the special session would likely be after June 20.

Brownback also said he "will do everything I can to keep this session focused on education." During a special session, legislators can work on other measures as well and is it expected that some proposals will be floated.

On May 27, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled that the Legislature's attempt to fix Local Option Budget inequities was unconstitutional and actually increased inequality among districts. The Court, again in the long-running dispute, gave the Legislature until the last day of the fiscal year, June 30, to fix the inequities.

On June 1, the Legislature convened its official end of the 2016 legislative session, but Republicans, who hold significant majorities in the House and Senate, couldn't agree on how to address the ruling. Some Republicans said the Legislature should defy the court while Democrats and some other Republicans called on Brownback to bring the Legislature back into an overtime session. Democrats had even started a petition drive to force a session. Meanwhile, schools were in limbo, fearing a shutdown that would disrupt summer activities at schools and the start of the next school year.

In his announcement, Brownback slammed the court, saying, "After discussion with Legislative Leadership, I have decided to call a special session to keep Kansas schools open, despite the Court’s threat to close them. It is distressing that the Kansas Supreme Court has put the schools and Legislature of Kansas in this position over less than 1 percent of school funding."

The court has said it cannot allow the continuance of an unconstitutional school finance law that is dis-equalizing to students and taxpayers.

Senate Democratic Leader Anthony Hensley said he was glad Brownback decided to call a special session but was concerned Brownback and his allies would try to set up another confrontation with the court.

"The parents and children of Kansas deserve much more than to play politics with fairly funding our schools," Hensley said.

But like Brownback, House Speaker Ray Merrick, R-Stilwell, also criticized the court. "The Kansas Supreme Court has made their desire to close Kansas schools this year crystal clear. Their willingness to use Kansas children for their own political gain is despicable," Merrick said.

The last time the Legislature met in special session over school finance was in 2005 when because of a Kansas Supreme Court decision legislators convened for 12 days before hammering out a funding increase for schools.

KASB Blog: Schools remain in limbo following end of legislative session

Schools remain in limbo following end of legislative session

Kansas schools remained in limbo Thursday after Republican leaders declined to work on school finance on the last day of the legislative session and Gov. Sam Brownback made no mention of calling a special session to address a Kansas Supreme Court ruling.

The concern over whether schools will close July 1 increased even more after the state announced tax receipts in May fell significantly below projections, which will probably require more budget cuts on top of nearly $100 million in cuts that Brownback made last month to higher education, health care, children's programs and other areas.

On the final day of the session Wednesday, Republicans, who hold significant majorities in the Legislature, failed to reach a consensus on how to resolve the state Supreme Court's decision last week that the Legislature's proposed fix to equity funding failed to fix the problem.

In that decision, the court, again, reminded the Legislature that without a constitutional finance system, schools couldn't operate beyond June 30, the last day of the fiscal year and less than one month away.

School officials throughout the state are sounding alarms that a disruption in funding and expenditures would jeopardize students, federal funding, schools, teachers and communities.

KASB and USA Kansas have issued a joint statement urging election officials "to continue working on providing a constitutional system for all of our students and resolve this issues as soon as possible."

Amy Martin, a member of the Olathe USD 233 school board and president-elect of KASB, called on education advocates to contact their legislators and encourage them to work on a solution.

Here is an excerpt from Martin's blog:  

We need to stay focused on our goal, which is to have kids back in classrooms and learning on August 17th. However, serious consequences for failing to meet the court order begin on July 1st. Many kids will be directly impacted. Consider driver education, summer meals, band camps, transcript requests, and outside groups that rent our facilities.

Our communities will also be impacted. Most obvious, we will stop mowing. But also consider all the summer construction projects we have going on. Not just the facility improvements that won't be completed before the start of the year, but the impact to the local contractors and workers who are relying upon the work.

Our employees will be left hanging. Most teachers take their pay in installments that continue through the summer months. Many also will face a lapse in health insurance coverage. And with no guarantee of employment next fall, some may opt for teaching positions across the state line.

And finally, all the unseen business of our district. We have financial obligations like bond payments, utilities, and purchasing contracts. We have property, casualty, and liability insurance obligations. Some very serious issues are raised by the prospect of not paying our bills.

And what does this mean for the Kansas economy? Given that K-12 education accounts for 4.5% of total Kansas wages and 67,000 jobs, and that schools purchase $735 million in services and $657 million in supplies, shutting them down certainly isn't going to help it.

So, what can you do? Make sure your friends and neighbors know this is going on. And then reach out to your state representative and senator. Respectfully encourage them to find a solution. The ball is clearly in their court and they need to hear the priorities of the people they serve.

School Closure: Kansas School Superintendents' Association Press Release

The following release went out yesterday to news outlets in the Topeka, Wichita and Kansas City markets. KSSA Stands Ready to Work with Legislators Topeka, Kansas – Friday’s ruling from the Kansas Supreme Court was not a surprise for the Kansas School Superintendents Association (KSSA). When the CLASS Act was passed, a little more then 12 months ago KSSA had a number of concerns around the constitutionality of the law, as it failed to address equality and adequacy through Block Grant funding. Superintendents who are members of KSSA stand united for equitable and adequate funding for all students, no matter the zip code. KSSA appreciates the Supreme Court Justices adhering to their constitutional duties, and we expect legislators to do the same.  A student educated in the smallest community in Kansas must have the same opportunity to achieve success as a student who attends a school in the largest communities within our great state. History has shown Kansans understand the value of working together to create greater opportunities for all Kansas citizens. This is why KSSA will continue to work with our legislature to develop a solution that will pass the equity test for the immediate future and years to come. It’s the hope of all Kansas educational leaders that the Governor and Legislators can come together and identify a constitutional solution to address school funding and not challenge the Supreme Court to a game of chance. KSSA and the United School Administrators of Kansas (USA-Kansas) stand ready to work with legislators during the next session regarding potential changes to the school funding formula. USA-Kansas has been working with it’s member organizations on a funding mechanism based on student needs, not solely on budget dollars available. As we move our ideas forward we are confident when educational leaders can work with our legislative leaders we can find solutions. The longer we work apart the greater the challenge will become.

Tax receipts tank; Legislature doesn't address school finance, etc. by KS Association of School Boards

Tax receipts tank; Legislature doesn't address school finance; Senate approves transgender resolution

State budget problems got worse on Wednesday and schools moved one day closer to a possible shutdown.

The Legislature ended the 2016 legislative session without acting on the Kansas Supreme Court’s school finance ruling in the face of a possible closing of the public school system in one month.

And just moments after legislators adjourned, the state reported another steep shortfall — more than $70 million — in projected tax receipts for the month of May.

As the clock ticked on the school funding deadline and the budget situation worsened, the Senate ended the session right after approving a resolution condemning the Obama Administration's directive to allow transgender students to use bathrooms that correspond to their gender identity.

Republican leaders said legislators would work later on school finance, but did not indicate when. Gov. Sam Brownback could call the Legislature back for a special session but has not commented on whether he would do that, nor when.

Last week, the Kansas Supreme Court said the Legislature's latest attempt to fix inequities in school finance continued those inequities to the detriment of poor districts. The court, again, said the Legislature had until June 30, the last day of the fiscal year, to produce a constitutional finance plan, or on July 1 schools would be unable to operate.

On Wednesday, the Legislature met for the official, usually ceremonial end of the session, and the major question was would leaders try to pass a new school finance bill or wait.

As the day progressed, it became apparent that Republicans, who hold significant majorities in the House and Senate, were nowhere near agreement on what to do.

Reporters tweeting from the Senate GOP caucus meeting reported senators were all over the map on how to address the court decision with some saying the Legislature should defy the court while others said legislators should abide by the ruling and allocate the funds needed to provide equity.

Meanwhile, Democrats and some Republicans urged passage of the former equalization levels, which would require approximately $38 million.

But the ability to put more funding into schools was dealt a setback when it was announced tax revenues for May fell more than $70 million short of recently lowered projections. With the state having an approximate $25 million ending balance for the current fiscal year, more budget cuts are likely.

"Large company layoffs and struggles in the aviation, oil and agricultural industries point to an overall sluggish economy which contributed to lower-than-expected revenue receipts," said Kansas Department of Revenue Secretary Nick Jordan. "This is a trend reflected throughout the region," Jordan said.

Last month, Brownback cut universities, health care and other areas by nearly $100 million because of lagging revenue.

Arguments over school finance spilled into debate of a resolution by Senate President Susan Wagle, R-Wichita, that condemned the Obama administration's decision requiring public schools allow transgender students to use bathrooms and locker rooms based on their gender identity and not based on their gender assigned at birth.

The federal guidance from the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Education, providing a new interpretation of the decades-old Title IX anti-discrimination law, has been hailed by advocates for transgender students, who have said being forced to use facilities unaligned with their sexual identity has resulted in discrimination, bullying and high suicide rates.

But the resolution, approved by the Senate 30-8, urged public schools, colleges and universities to "disregard the Obama Administration Title IX guidance," which the resolution decries as an executive intrusion on local decisions that threatens the rights of privacy, safety and education of Kansas students.

Wagle said the resolution was needed to express discontent with federal overreach, but Democrats said Kansans were more concerned about whether schools would be open after July 1 than about where students go to the bathroom.

Sen. Tom Holland, D-Baldwin City, said the state has a growing budget deficit, an unconstitutional school finance system "but we're debating where transgender can pee."

Earlier in the day, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt announced he had joined a lawsuit with 11 other states, led by Texas, that challenges the Obama administration's over the issue.

Last Day to Register to Vote BEFORE NOON TODAY, Wednesday, June 1st!

Today: Make sure you’re registered to vote by click here .

If you’ve moved or changed your name, you must re-register.

Before NOON on Wednesday, June 1: Go to your county election office and select the party affiliation (Republican or Democrat) for the primary you want to vote in on Aug. 2. Click here for a printable voter application and party designation form or find online registration information here. If you aren’t sure which primary you want to vote in yet, change your registration to Unaffiliated before this deadline. You can then request a Republican OR Democratic ballot at your polling place on Aug. 2. (If you do this, you will need to complete paperwork at the poll to affiliate with the party whose ballot you select.) If you are doing a mail-in ballot, you must designate your party affiliation before noon on June 1.