Top education officials say Kansas teachers don't feel appreciated

Top
education officials say Kansas teachers don't feel appreciated and a merit pay
requirement might make matters worse: A blog by KASB

Top education
officials Wednesday told legislators Kansas teachers don’t feel appreciated and
a merit pay requirement from the state might make matters worse.

Responding to a
question from state Sen. Jeff Melcher, R-Leawood, related to merit pay, Kansas
Education Commissioner Randy Watson said teachers aren’t so much concerned
about money as they are feeling unappreciated.

“They have come to
believe that they are not appreciated in the state of Kansas and that is the
general reaction everywhere I go,” Watson said.

Kansas State Board of
Education Chairman Jim McNiece urged legislators to applaud teachers and
suggested a merit pay requirement from the state could be like pouring gasoline
on a fire.

But Melcher blamed
the education community and teacher’s union for bad feelings between teachers
and legislators.

He said he wanted a
system that rewarded top teachers, but then added teachers make “actually a
pretty darn good living.”

Watson and McNiece
appeared before the committees to brief the members on the State Board's new
vision of focusing on the success of each Kansas student.

Three Key Questions By Kansas Center for Economic Growth Senior Fellow Duane Goossen

Kansas remains in a perpetual budget crisis as another legislative session begins. Lawmakers have already approved budgets for FY 2016 and for FY 2017, but both must be adjusted just to keep the general fund solvent. 

Is it possible to get through FY 2016 without further cuts?

A very high risk exists for further mid-fiscal year program cuts.

In November, the state's revenue estimators markedly lowered expectations for the amount of tax revenue that Kansas would receive in FY 2016. The new estimate put the general fund underwater by more than $100 million, even though lawmakers had hiked the state sales tax rate in June and directly transferred more than $200 million from other state funds.

In response, the Brownback administration took emergency action in November to take yet another $50 million from the highway fund and $9 million from early childhood accounts, and imposed deeper spending cuts on programs. These actions just inched the general fund balance above zero by a few million dollars.

If actual tax collections do not meet the lowered targets, further budget cuts will be required. Kansas does not have any reserves left to deal with further revenue erosion.  Even with lowered expectations, the new estimate predicts that tax collections will increase by 5.7 percent in FY 2016. However, through the first 6 months of FY 2016, actual collections have grown less than 2 percent from the previous year. The revenue estimators likely still have the revenue estimate set too high.

What must be done to the existing FY 2017 budget - at minimum?

At least $175 million must either be added to revenue or subtracted from approved expenses to stay solvent. That's the bare minimum required to keep the ending balance above zero, and would only eke the state through to the next year.  

  

 

Keep in mind that the revenue estimate for FY 2017 already includes $180 million in one-time transfers from other funds.

Doing the bare minimum does not account for any action that may be required from the school finance court case, does not provide any ending balance, and does not deal with understaffed prisons and hospitals. And if the revenue estimate for FY 2016 is still too high, the one for FY 2017 likely is, as well.

What's the fix?

To be financially stable, Kansas must adequately fund key programs, have a balance between income and expenses, and keep a reasonable amount of reserves. Not even one of those three things is occurring now.

The problem rests with unaffordable income tax cuts that dramatically diminished the state's revenue stream and produced a perpetual budget crisis. Fixing the problem requires revisiting those income tax policies and correcting them.

January 2016 School Board Recognition

Ordinary citizens doing extraordinary work: that’s how to describe our local board of education! These seven individuals are our friends and neighbors who are creating a future for every child in our communities. They spend countless hours preparing to make decisions, participating in meetings and attending school activities and events. They advocate on the local, state and national levels for our children. They are held accountable for the decisions they make, and do all of this as volunteers.

Public education is a cornerstone of American society, and local school boards are deeply rooted in U.S. tradition. In fact, in 1966 the people of Kansas amended our state’s constitution to specifically call for local public schools that are ‘maintained, developed and operated by locally elected boards.’

Our local board of education is responsible for setting a vision for our local education program, and partners with staff and other members of the community to provide the facilities and infrastructure to achieve that vision. They research, study and then discuss issues so that they can make informed decisions on countless complex challenges.

Too often we forget about the personal sacrifices school board members make. The job of a school board member is tough, the hours long and the thanks few and far between. The month of January marks the annual observance of School Board Recognition Month and gives us the chance to say thank you!

The theme this year is “Public School Board Members Create a Future for Every Child.” This is a time to shine a light on how local boards prepare today’s students for success. In January, join with others throughout our district and state to salute the men and women who provide leadership for our public schools.

Kansas Education Commissioner Watson touts new ESEA (A Blog from KASB)

Kansas Education Commissioner Randy Watson on Thursday touted the new federal education law that will replace many of the requirements of No Child Left Behind.

“Overall, we are very excited,” Watson told the board of the Coalition of Innovative School Districts.

“We see a lot of flexibility in the law. Every day we get into it deeper, we get more excited about possibilities in the law,” he said.

The state education agency is putting together two panels to dive into the newest version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which was recently adopted on a bi-partisan basis in Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama.

The new law keeps intact the annual testing schedule under No Child Left Behind, but generally leaves to the states how much importance to place on the test scores.

Watson said the new law removes much of the authority over education from the U.S. Secretary of Education and gives it back to the states.

He also said he sees opportunities under the new state law to boost early childhood education.

“The board (Kansas State Board of Education) is extremely interested in kindergarten readiness. We are going to expand our presence in early childhood. We see over the long-term that could be beneficial,” he said.

He said ESEA won’t be the major driving force of Kansas education but will be more like the “backbone,” he said.

I'm from Kansas by Dr. John Heim, KS Association of School Boards Executive Director

Pickups and Schools

This year has brought some big changes for me. Among them, I am not commuting 120 miles a day anymore. I also traded my 10-year-old Nissan pickup on a new Ford F150. These changes made me think about an interesting argument made by a Kansas policy group about median spending in schools. The argument is the Legislature should take the median spending level for schools and limit spending to that median for each spending category. The assumption, I guess, is that any spending above the median for each category is wasteful.

So let’s take a look at two hypothetical situations, call them medians for 2014JH and 2016JH. (Since I only had two data sets, I used average instead of median for a measure of central tendency.)

Spending Category               2014JH Monthly       2016JH Monthly       Average

Vehicle Maintenance                       $200                        $20                     $110

Gas                                                   $360                        $20                     $190

Principal and Interest                        $0                           $400                   $200

Based upon this comparison and the policy group’s reasoning, 2014JH is overspending on monthly maintenance by $90 and gas by $170, whereas 2016JH is grossly overspending on principal and interest by $200! These two JH’s are obviously on vehicular spending sprees. The differences in travel and age of vehicle explain the differences.

So let’s look at two large districts in a metropolitan area. One district, call them Metro City, is at the city core. Their buildings were primarily built in the 1950s and ‘60s. The bond debt has been paid off for years, but these buildings require as much or more maintenance as a 2006 Nissan pickup. Their maintenance and energy costs will be relatively high, certainly higher than the median.

Red River, the second district is in the same metropolitan area and has been growing rapidly. All of their buildings have been built since the 1980s. Because of the rapid growth, they add a new school building every year or so. This district’s bond and interest costs will be far above the Metro City’s and above the median in their category. But because they built with modern designs and materials, their energy costs are far less than the median. Maintenance costs on their newer facilities will be less than Metro City and the median.

If one is looking for a way to take cheap shots at different district’s spending levels in different categories, they would say Metro City is wasteful and inefficient because of high energy and maintenance costs out of one side of their mouth and Red River is wasteful and inefficient because of high bond and interest costs out of the other, while ignoring the obvious big picture differences.

Kansas School districts are as different as the children they serve. Garden City and Maize have similar enrollments, but are unique in more ways than my short blog can list. Should we really expect them to be at the same median spending levels in total in categories? If you believe that, you haven’t driven a Ford lately.

President signs into law reauthorization of ESEA

President Barack
Obama on Thursday signed into law the bi-partisan overhaul of No Child Left
Behind.



The reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act shifts some
authority over public schools from the federal government to the states and
local districts.



The new law, which is called the Every Student Succeeds Act, maintains mandated
testing of students in third- through eighth-grades and once in high school,
but it allows states to determine how to use those test scores to evaluate
teachers and schools.



Here is a link to a White House analysis of the new law.

More than 500 education officials participate in KASB's Annual Conference

USD 331  Board Members & Superintendent among those in Attendance

A Blog by KS Association of School Boards

More than 500 school
leaders met in Wichita last week to participate in the 98th Annual KASB
Conference.

School board members
and administrators attended breakout sessions, visited schools, heard inspiring
speeches, toured exhibits and elected office holders during the meeting at the
Hyatt Regency and Century II Convention Center.

KASB President Don
Shimkus, a member of the Oxford USD 358 school board, urged education advocates
to tell their neighbors and colleagues about the great work being conducted on
behalf of students at their local schools.

“Rally your community
around your school,” Shimkus said.

KASB Executive
Director John Heim said Kansas public schools have one of the best stories in
the nation to tell.

Kansas ranks eighth
among states in student outcomes while ranking 27th in spending per pupil.
Every state that ranks ahead of Kansas spends more per pupil.

“We have better
results for less money than any other state,” Heim said.

Both Heim and Shimkus
urged KASB delegates to try to lead the conversation on public schools in
Kansas.

The Delegate Assembly
voted unanimously for Dayna Miller, a member of the Basehor-Linwood USD 458
school board, as president-elect designee.

“I promise to do my
best and continue our mission and advocate for all students,” Miller said. Her
term as president will start in July 2017.

Shimkus’ term will
run to July 2016 at which time Amy Martin, a member of the Olathe USD 233
school board, will become president.

The Delegate Assembly
also approved its 2016 Legislative Committee report, which outlines KASB’s
goals and stances for the upcoming Legislative Session.

Here is a link to that report.