Poverty among school-aged children increased slightly in Douglas County in 2002, but was down across the state, according to estimates released this week by the U.S. Census Bureau.

State and Lawrence school officials, however, said more recent numbers showed a trend of rising poverty among their students.

“I’m seeing a fairly substantial increase in our poverty measure, which is applications for free and reduced lunch,” said Randy Weseman, superintendent of Lawrence schools. “It’s over 3,000 now. That doesn’t appear to dovetail very well with their index.”

According to the Census Bureau:

• 8.6 percent of Douglas County children between ages 5 and 17 lived in poverty in 2002 — up from 8.5 percent the previous year.
• Statewide, 10.5 percent of Kansas children were counted as poor, down from 10.8 percent in 2001.
• Both Douglas County and Kansas were well below the national average in 2002. More than 15 percent of American school-aged children lived in impoverished families.

Students at Pinckney School settle in for lunch Wednesday at the elementary building at 810 W. Sixth St. New census figures show child poverty has increased slightly in Douglas County, but Lawrence schools Supt. Randy Weseman says the growing number of students in the free and reduced-cost lunch program reflects a bigger increase.

Numbers for participants in the free and reduced-cost lunch program at state and local schools, however, suggest about a third of all students could be considered poor — and the number is rising.

Statewide, 32.5 percent of the state’s K-12 students received such meals during the 2001-02 school year. That has increased to 36.9 percent this year.

In Lawrence, the percentage has increased from 25.8 percent of students in 2001-02 to 30.2 percent this year.

Both statewide and locally, the number of children qualifying for meal assistance rose during that time period, even though the number of students declined, according to figures from the Kansas Department of Education.

Students whose families make less than 130 percent of poverty-level income qualify for the meal program, said Gary Brunk, director of Kansas Action for Children.

6News video: Poverty levels a concern for school officials Census.gov: Douglas County facts

He said that criteria, plus the age of the Census Bureau’s data, might be the reason for the disparity in state and national estimates of the problem.

“It could be that (the census) is painting a picture that’s no longer very accurate,” Brunk said. “Three years from now, we might see the census numbers and they’ll tell us that the poverty rate is going up.”

Kathy Toelkes, a spokeswoman for the Kansas Department of Education, said the effects of poverty showed up in the classroom.

“We know that the No. 1 indicator for achievement tends to be poverty,” she said. “They tend to enter school behind.”