Increase taxes or cut school funding. That’s been the choice offered by state leaders to bridge a $700 million revenue shortfall.

But on Monday, conservative Republicans unveiled a plan that maintains the level of state funding to public schools, doesn’t increase taxes and balances the state budget.

“This proposal sets priorities for Kansas and makes responsible budget choices based on those priorities,” said House Majority Leader Shari Weber, R-Herrington.

Critics quickly called the proposal a shell game that would postpone painful budget decisions until next year, after the elections.

The plan relies on raiding fund reserves and drawing down the state’s legally obliged ending balance.

Conservatives offered the proposal as an alternative to Gov. Bill Graves’ $364 million tax increase, and a House committee’s slash-and-burn, no-new-taxes plan that makes deep cuts.

“The people of Kansas have demanded a solution that balances the budget while protecting our children’s education and the elderly,” said Rep. Tony Powell, R-Wichita.

Under the conservative plan, base state aid per pupil would remain at $3,870. Graves’ tax increase would increase per pupil spending by $20, while the House committee plan would reduce funding $303 per student.

The conservative plan would reduce higher education funding by $13 million, while Graves’ plan keeps it even and the House committee proposal cuts $51 million.

The conservative plan cuts funding to welfare and aging programs by restricting eligibility requirements, but not as drastically as the House committee plan. Graves’ budget keeps eligibility levels at current status.

One-time funds

To avoid the cuts to public schools in the House committee plan, the conservative proposal would raid funds from a transfer of federal moneys for senior services, moneys from the tobacco lawsuit settlement and the state’s ending balance.

“This proposal has more drastic cuts than the governor’s proposal, uses a lot of one-time money and gets us in the same position next year. That’s the long and the short of it,” Gov. Bill Graves’ budget director Duane Goossen said.

“This produces another $207 million of one-time spending. Revenues cannot grow enough to offset that,” Goossen said.

House Minority Leader Jim Garner, D-Coffeyville, also opposed the plan’s reliance on one-time funding sources.

But the GOP conservative lawmakers were unapologetic about using reserves for one-time spending, saying that people would rather do that to fix a temporary revenue problem than tax themselves permanently.

“Other Kansas leaders have incited hysteria in the public by claiming the state budget cannot be balanced without drastic budget cuts and tax increases. They have proposed long-term solutions to a short-term problem,” said Rep. Doug Mays, R-Topeka.

Last no-tax option

The group, which also included Rep. Brenda Landwehr, R-Wichita, said the proposed budget will be offered today during House action as an amendment to the House committee plan.

“This is probably the last chance to vote for a plan that doesn’t raise taxes,” Mays said.

Several conservatives had complained that the House committee budget was put together in a way to force lawmakers to consider a tax increase to avoid cutting education.

Last week, Graves said, “The people who say a tax increase is not necessary endanger the future of our state. They lack the courage to cast a bold vote and the vision to see its necessity.”

But the conservatives said a tax increase would hurt Kansas’ economic rebound.

“At a time of recession and war, we need to explore every single alternative,” to a tax increase, Mays said.

One proposal recommended by the group would be to study whether it would save the state money to privatize dormitories at Kansas University and other state colleges. Powell said he heard about the idea from an Ohio official but hasn’t explored it much further.