To show real commitment to information technology, state officials need to put some funding into the statewide Kan-Ed network.
In a story in Thursday's Journal-World, state officials were pointing with pride to the state's top ranking in information technology.
Kansas and Illinois led all other states by scoring 98.1 out of a possible 100 in an annual survey conducted by the Progress and Freedom Federation and the Center for Digital Government. Judges looked at information technology in city and local governments in eight categories; Kansas received perfect scores in the areas of transportation and social service. Special mention was made of the availability of online class registration and student loan applications at state universities and a Kansas Bureau of Investigation system that allows access to criminal histories on the Internet.
This is all good news for Kansas. But there's another aspect to the story.
For space reasons, the last paragraph of the Associated Press story was trimmed before publication. In that paragraph, David Day, director of marketing for the Kansas Technology Enterprise Corp., said the state's commitment to technology was evidenced by the passage of a bill in 2001 that created the Kan-Ed network. When completed, he said, the network would provide a high-speed Internet connection for schools, colleges, hospital and libraries statewide.
Day's statements sound like more good news for the state. The only problem is that the marvelous Kan-Ed Network will go nowhere without significant state funding. Kan-Ed was created by the 2001 legislation and placed under the auspices of the Kansas Board of Regents, but the only funding that was approved was a small amount of startup money.
A regents task force reported last month that about $11.8 million would be needed in Fiscal Year 2003 to start implementing Kan-Ed. The budget estimate included $10 million from the state and $1.8 million in federal matching funds. Similar funding would be required in subsequent years to extend the Kan-Ed network across the state.
Given the state's current fiscal condition, supporters have to be concerned about the chances of obtaining funding for Kan-Ed this year. It's a great program, but without funding, it's little more than a concept waiting to happen. It's a good concept that could benefit every legislative district in the state, but without funding, it will not become a reality.
Kansas has reason to be proud of the advances it has made in information technology, and it's positive that the state has shown a commitment to technology by passing the Kan-Ed bill. However, without funds to support the new technology, that commitment has a rather hollow ring.
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