Tough times may be ahead for public schools in Kansas, but it's wonderful to see so many local residents showing an interest in this important topic.
A standing-room-only crowd to hear a presentation about public school financing is an encouraging sight.
More than 200 people crowded into the school board meeting room at the Lawrence district headquarters Tuesday night to get more information on how expected budget shortfalls might affect the local district. The group included five state legislators and 200 other people who care enough about the future of Lawrence schools to show up for this important meeting.
Supt. Randy Weseman told the group that the local district would have to prepare for the worst. Required by law to submit a budget that only reflects existing revenue, Gov. Bill Graves will submit a budget on Monday that cuts an estimated $2.4 million from state appropriations to the Lawrence school district. Such cuts cannot be absorbed without making painful choices and cutting services that district personnel and the community believe are important to the quality of education our children receive.
Eliminating all school nurses would save the district nearly $750,000, said Weseman; discontinuing a program aimed at reducing the number of students who drop out of school would save $140,000. But that's still less than the $2.4 million.
There are other places to trim, but it is difficult to cut $2.4 million from a budget by cutting a few hundred dollars here and a few hundred dollars there. A large chunk of the district budget, of course, is dedicated to salaries. It's unrealistic to consider cutting teacher salaries that already are too low, so the only other option is to eliminate positions. Weseman already has trimmed positions to make the district administration leaner. More staff cuts probably will mean larger class sizes or fewer support staff. It won't be pretty.
But it's very positive news that so many Lawrence district patrons are interested in this topic and the future of our schools. Legislators at the meeting urged those in attendance to make themselves heard on this issue and contact other people in other communities to do the same. Staving off cuts in public education in a notably tax-averse Kansas Legislature will be a difficult task.
If state legislators are to be convinced of the need to raise new revenue for schools through tax increases or other sources that convincing probably will have to come from Kansas residents like those who attended Tuesday's meeting, not from school district administrators.
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