Topeka — Gov. Bill Graves detailed a $112 million plan Tuesday for increasing public education funding, challenging legislators to engage in a "serious and significant" debate on school finance.
At a meeting of the State Board of Education, Graves' plan would raise the sales tax 0.2 percent, from 4.9 percent to 5.1 percent, and increase the motor fuels tax by 2 cents per gallon. The fuels tax would be transferred to the Kansas Department of Transportation, removing equal amounts of sales tax revenue from the agency budget.
Kansas currently spends $2.6 billion on K-12 education.
Specifics of the plan include raising the base state aid per pupil from $3,820 to $3,930; add $22 million to special education funding to cover 90 percent of excess costs and phase in all-day kindergarten over five years.
Graves said 10 percent of the new money is earmarked to encourage districts and teachers to strive for excellence through financial incentives.
"We think it is one way for us to encourage and, quite frankly, reward excellence in our classrooms," Graves said.
The governor's proposal showed a dramatic increase from his State of the State address, where he recommended increasing public education spending by $68 million, with a $50 increase in the base state aid.
House Speaker Kent Glasscock, R-Manhattan, said he did not mind the timing of the proposal, coming on the 65th day of a 90-day legislative session.
"It's always a good time to offer up a vision for public education in Kansas," he said. "We're not going to spit in the eye of the governor, but the House is going to remain reluctant in terms of tax increases."
But Rep. Ralph Tanner, R-Baldwin City, chairman of the House Education Committee, was not thrilled with Graves' timing.
"The expectation has been raised so high through the governor's task force and other voices in the Senate and state Board of Education that we have what is approaching an impossible situation," Tanner said.
The governor's plan would be at least the third school finance proposal.
A coalition of Senate Education Committee members has floated a proposal that would increase the state's sales tax to 5.5 percent over three years. That measure would raise an estimated $75 million in fiscal 2002, which starts July 1; $150 million in fiscal 2003; and $225 million in fiscal 2004.
Sen. Jim Barnett, R-Emporia, has proposed an increase in taxes on beer, wine and strong liquor to raise about $61 million for state aid to schools.
The House Appropriations Committee has endorsed a budget closely following the plan Graves outlined in his State of the State address.
The House Education Committee plans to roll out a proposal Thursday that incorporates its session-long focus on accountability at early grade levels.
In other action Monday:
A compromise bill extending the Kansas Lottery's life easily won House approval and went to Graves.
The House rejected a bill that would have eased lobbyist disclosure requirements and created a commission that could increase legislative pay.
Some senators suggested delaying a proposal that would provide tax incentives for Kansans who make their homes and businesses more energy efficient, to study how much it would cost the state.
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