Topeka ? A budget that allocates $2.3 billion in state revenue to elementary and secondary education received a committee’s endorsement Thursday.

The budget, which keeps funding at its current level, was approved on voice vote. But another vote that didn’t occur was big a statement about how the House Appropriations Committee feels about cutting education spending.

Rep. Rocky Nichols, of Topeka, the ranking Democrat on the committee, made a standing offer to second any motion made to cut education spending. His offer was a response to Republicans who complained that districts still are top heavy with administration and outside contracts for services.

Nichols had no takers.

“This is the last time,” Nichols said. “I just want to make sure there is no one out there who wants to cut education.”

Nichols said he would vote against an attempt to cut education funding but was making a point that the committee, by not reducing spending, was setting a floor for spending in fiscal 2004.

Under the budget as approved, the state would spend $3,863 per pupil, the same as the current year and $7 less than in fiscal 2002.

With all federal, state and local funding sources, Kansas spent $3.78 billion on schools in fiscal 2002, or $8,490 per pupil.

While no one accepted Nichols’ offer, Rep. Brenda Landwehr, R-Wichita, suggested that the House’s education budget subcommittee continue to scrutinize school spending.

She said potential issues include the percentage of dollars spent on administrative costs, the number of out-of-state students being educated in Kansas and how well districts verify students’ eligibility for free or reduced-price lunches.

Rep. Bill McCreary, R-Wellington, raised a concern about the amount of money schools pay to service centers for contracts. He said districts pay more than $100 million each year to 26 service centers with 3,200 employees.

“I’m not indicting all of them, but I think it bears investigation, because I think there’s a lot of dollars being siphoned off from the classroom because of these,” McCreary said.

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Melvin Neufeld, R-Ingalls, questioned whether education officials and lobbyists would ever be satisfied with school funding, even if the state increase its annual spending by $1 billion.