anyone in Kansas? halp

[NewOrleans]

I'm trying to figure out Kansas education funding.

I know alllllll about the convoluted and tortured history of court rulings going back 30 years regarding Kansas funding.  THat's not what I'm looking for.

I'm looking for a ratio of federal, state, and local funding of schools in Kansas as well as what type of taxes Kansas uses to fund its schools (ex: local property taxes?).  

The problem is that because of the many court cases, all Google will tell me is... the many court cases rather than what I want to know, which is how Kansas got revenue for schools and from what sources, and what formula (prior to the block grants) the state used to calculate what they gave districts.

Any Kansas folks know?

eta: I also keep seeing references in my reading to a LOB in Kansas?  Wtf is a LOB?  The US makes stuff so complicated by having different state laws / policies everywhere.  I don't know how people move between states!

[underwaterrhymes]

@cse1960 left awhile ago, but I'm tagging her in case she lurks.

She is a lawyer who lives in KS and and is pretty knowledgeable about stuff like this.

[JayhawkGirl]

I can't fully answer your questions but this link helps some - look under "Kansas budget primer" and then the link in there.
www.mainstreamcoalition.org/public_education

We have sales taxes (raised last year), income taxes (lowered some to individuals, eliminated for businesses including LLCs where resodents pay themselves for their own business) and property taxes. The state was surprised at how many took advantage of the LLC set up to avoid paying income taxes. Job creation/higher wages have not followed.

LOB is local option budget. We can raise some money locally through bond elections (via property taxes) but are restricted in where we can apply those funds. Ie My district is building a new elementary school from money from a bond issue voted in 10 years ago. We have the money to build the building but we don't have money to put furniture, teachers or materials in the building. Bond money can't be used for operational expenses, and state funding isn't covering the existing bills let alone another building.

Revenue estimates have been way off pretty much every month since the no taxing businesses went into effect. The state doesn't have the money to fund its commitments, let alone rise to a better level. Universities lost edit: $17m of this current year's funding a few weeks ago after the Feb revenues came in under the expected estimate. Highway funds are being diverted to the general fund. The state's required contrubution to the state pension fund may be delayed w/the "promise" of paying it w/8% interest next FY. The money won't be there then either.

KS is struggling over supporting and interpreting edit: suitable and equitable education as required in our state constitution - esp funding poorer districts, many in rural areas without a property tax base to go for local funds to supplement. Some districts sued the state (Gannon case) and the state has lost every step of the way. The latest state Supreme Court ruling says the funding formula they threw together last spring for the current shool year still doesn't meet the constitutional requirement and the legislature must adequately reformulate school funding by 7/1/16 or school won't open in August.

So the legislature is trying to make it easier to impeach the sate Supreme Court justices if they "usurp" the leg or gov. So much for checks & balances.

HTH- this got long. It affects my family on many levels, most notably my son's school bursting at the seams.

[pugz]

Basically we are fucked

[JayhawkGirl]

Yep

Also of note, the state has to pay into each employee's pension fund. They started lumping that figure into their calculations for per student funding to inflate the figures. Districts don't keep that money for any student/school use. The state sends the money to the districts who have to turn right back around and give it back to the state for the pension fund. Smoke & mirrors.

[WOT?*]

JayhawkGirl can you post your info on FB and other social media, possibly with the KS/LA article posted elsewhere here? I posted the article with a denouncement of R beliefs and "why isn't this being talked about" type stuff. I think this would be great information to get out there and talked about much more than it has, and your information is excellent. Do you mind if I borrow some of it for my post?

[JayhawkGirl]

Help yourself- want some other FB groups to follow & share?

I've sent emails, and have shared some pleas to call/email/vote on FB. I am much more vocal to friends & neighbors in person - tend to keep FB pretty vanilla for various reasons.

Are we local to each other? pugz thankfully doesn't cut me off the email invites but I always end up w the most random circumstances when I'm supposed to gtg!

[JayhawkGirl]

NewOrleans- another good general background on the pre-block grant formula. (I googled Kansas school funding formula Joan Finney- she was Gov when the last formula came into being)

www.hutchnews.com/opinion/columnists/the-ongoing-story-of-kansas-school-finance/article_5d3cebc3-5510-56e0-bf0f-2c0e6e833793.html

[WOT?*]

Not local. I'm just rather insulted at how much heat the Dems get on social support issues, but when the legs are cut out from under them they are left unsupported, struggling and nobody is saying a word about how the schools are decimated, unfounded, overcrowded and kids are suffering because of hoped-for political gains that are actually huge losses that aren't getting talked about.

I'm a little abrupt when it comes to not funding the schools. I"m not quiet about it at all.

[JayhawkGirl]

Shine the light! I've long suspected our gov is jockeying for an appointment in DC, with no worries about who he crushes to get there. At one point I thought he had presidential aspirations for himself, but his "real live experiment" hasn't quite brought him the glory he expected.

I just read the KS/LA thread - thankfully that was circulating in my FB feed.

[NewOrleans]

JayhawkGirl thank you tremendously for these very informative and thoughtful replies. I appreciate it so much. You've helped me with everything I need to know.

How terribly frustrating! That gov. is... something. We read an article here just the other day about his tax cuts in KS. I don't understand how people voted him back in. What is even happening around this country?

Thank you again

[JayhawkGirl]

Bumping this as NewOrleans & WOT?* this article does a nice job explaining the history of our school finance mess.

m.ljworld.com/weblogs/capitol-report/2016/mar/27/the-abcs-of-school-finance-how-we-got-he/?templates=mobile

[zaneyzoo]

Mar 21, 2016 0:24:32 GMT -5 JayhawkGirl said:

Shine the light! I've long suspected our gov is jockeying for an appointment in DC, with no worries about who he crushes to get there. At one point I thought he had presidential aspirations for himself, but his "real live experiment" hasn't quite brought him the glory he expected.

I just read the KS/LA thread - thankfully that was circulating in my FB feed.

I was talking with family who works at one of the major universities here and word is that Brownback is jockeying himself to be president of it.  Lord help us all.   

They said there has been a mass exodus of professors and staff (including them)


Can you imagine how fast he would drive that school into the ground?  


**hint, not the school in your signature 

[JayhawkGirl]

That's terrifying. His passion is CLEARLY not education.