Topeka ? Without comment, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius signed into law a bill delaying the state’s June payment to public schools as education officials complained Tuesday about what she and the Legislature failed to do for schoolchildren this year.

“We have not moved the ball down the field,” said State Board of Education member Bill Wagnon, a Democrat from Topeka, whose district includes western Douglas County.

Earlier this school year, the base state aid per pupil was cut from $3,890 to $3,863. That reduced level was approved for the next fiscal year too, which starts July 1.

“Without more money, we are falling behind,” Wagnon said.

The discussion at the Education Board’s meeting was in part prompted by a staff report that showed a wide variance in administrative salaries from district to district.

The report, based on the 2001-2002 school year, showed the total salaries of certified administrative personnel, such as superintendents, assistant superintendents, principals and curriculum directors.

The report divided the total salaries in a district by the number of students in the district to come up with a per-pupil figure for administrative salaries.

The costs ranged from $221 per student in the Derby school district in Sedgwick County to $845 per student in the Fowler district in Meade County.

In Douglas County, the Lawrence school district spent $265 per student on administrative salaries; Eudora, $305; and Baldwin, $426.

Several Board of Education members said the salary variances were understandable given the wide range of how many schools are in a district, the number of students in those schools and competitive salary factors.

But Wagnon said he feared lawmakers would use the report to beat up on schools by saying the variance in per-pupil administrative salaries was evidence of wasteful spending.

Education Commissioner Andy Tompkins, however, said lawmakers have been quick to complain about variances in spending in districts, but they haven’t done anything about it, such as make requirements about how big schools or districts should be.

“You can’t get them to even talk about it,” he said.

Board member Connie Morris, a Republican from St. Francis, said the report showed that administrators were making too much money.

“Let’s equalize salaries a little bit,” Morris said. She said top administrators at schools should make no more than $20,000 more than a teacher.

Sebelius’ action means that the June 15 state payment of $213 million to public schools will be delayed until around July 5, which is after the start of the next fiscal year.

Sebelius and Republican legislative leaders agreed to the delay as a move to help mend a budget hole. Included in the delay is a provision that exempts schools districts from the requirements that they balance their books, if they were thrown out of balance because of the state’s delayed payment.