A new report on Kansas higher education funding says the state’s colleges and universities should pursue a new revenue stream — local sales taxes.

But don’t expect to be paying more at the cash register to support Kansas University anytime soon. Even KU Chancellor Robert Hemenway is cool to the idea.

“That calls into question the responsibility of the Legislature to KU, and that’s a statewide responsibility,” Hemenway said. “Certainly the city of Lawrence benefits from having KU in its midst, but should the city of Lawrence bear a greater tax burden to support the university?”

The 118-page report was completed by Northwest Education Research Center, or NORED, based in Olympia, Wash.

The Kansas Board of Regents commissioned the study as a companion to a study completed by the center in 2001 after the state’s higher education governance system was reorganized.

Thirty-six recommendations

The new report outlines 36 funding recommendations, ranging from standardizing residency requirements at regents institutions to having the state utilize a funding philosophy that ranges from preschool through graduate school.

The report’s authors call the plan “ambitious.” Many of the recommendations involve increasing taxes or fees, which probably would mean tough going in the Legislature.

“The House is going to be more conservative politically concerning tax policies than it was last year,” said Rep. Tom Sloan, a Lawrence Republican and chairman of the House Higher Education Committee.

He also said he expected many legislators to disregard the study because it had been commissioned by the Board of Regents.

“They’re not likely to contract with someone when the results will be, ‘You don’t need more money,'” Sloan said of the regents. “We have studies every year that go and sit on a shelf and collect dust.”

Declining state support

The recommended increases include increasing property taxes for the state’s education building fund, which pays for maintenance on state campuses. They also include continued increased tuition rates, especially for nonresident students.

The recommendations are in response to data showing a decline in state support for higher education. For instance, 11.8 percent of the state’s budget went to higher education in 2002, which is 5 percent less than the 1990 share.

Reggie Robinson, president and CEO of the Board of Regents, said it was too early to know which parts of the plan will be adopted by regents. But he said he expected the report to be cited often in funding discussions.

“I think this will be a basis for broad consensus for increased higher education funding,” Robinson said.

And he said the report was credible, despite the fact the regents paid for it.

“We didn’t direct it,” Robinson said. “It’s as objective as anything we pay for could be. We laid out some questions, and they were free to reach conclusions on their own.”

WSU, Washburn sales tax

The sales tax proposal has been floated in higher education discussions in previous years, but Robinson said having it in the center’s report might give it more legitimacy.

“Now it’s part of a recommendation,” he said. “I’m sure it’ll get some consideration.”

Wichita State and Washburn universities, both in the regents system, already receive sales tax revenue.

Charles Jones, chairman of the Douglas County Commission, said he wasn’t sure a local sales tax to benefit KU was a good idea. But he said it was worth considering.

“I think everybody in Douglas County understands the asset the university is,” Jones said. “Students come from all over the state to KU, so there’s an equity issue as far as supporting it locally. On the other hand, we’re more aware of how the university is doing. I think we have a pretty steep vested interest in seeing it funded.”

Hemenway said his initial preference would be statewide tax support for universities. But he said he wouldn’t rule out support for a local sales tax.

“Before that would be done there would have to be a lot of airing of issues,” he said. “It’s a matter of how you acknowledge the statewide mission of the university.”