Topeka ? Higher education officials say they are happy with the results of the recently completed 2006 legislative session, despite the fact that one of their major initiatives was immediately shot down.

A proposed tax increase to help pay for nearly $600 million worth of maintenance and repair projects on college campuses went nowhere.

But the Legislature increased general operating funds to state universities and provided schools more leeway in managing their affairs.

Kansas University Chancellor Robert Hemenway said the session was “a very productive one for KU and Kansas higher education in general.”

“In the end, the Legislature adopted all key elements of KU’s agenda,” he said.

Reggie Robinson, president and chief executive officer of the Kansas Board of Regents, agreed that higher education advocates achieved many of their goals.

At the start of the session in January, Robinson said many worried that the Legislature’s focus on K-12 school funding would prevent much movement on higher ed issues.

“With that as the framing issue for the session, in that context, it’s hard not to be pretty positive about” advances made by higher education, Robinson said.

The Legislature has been under orders from the Kansas Supreme Court to increase public school funding and more fairly distribute that money.

Increased funding

As far as funding to higher education, the Legislature and Gov. Kathleen Sebelius increased the universities’ operating grants by $18.4 million.

State officials also provided $8.9 million in the final year of funding higher education reforms; $3.3 million of that will go toward increases in faculty salaries.

In addition, the Legislature approved Sebelius’ request for a $5 million grant to KU in its efforts to gain national designation as a cancer research center.

Robinson also noted two other crucial proposals were approved.

One will allow universities to keep interest earned on tuition, which currently goes into the state’s general expense fund. The other was an appropriation of $3.4 million to produce more nurses and help alleviate the current nursing shortage.

Robinson said part of the reason for the improvements in higher education funding was the rebounding economy, which in turn produced more tax revenue.

“Bottom line, it helps to have a brighter revenue picture,” Robinson said.

Deferred on deferred maintenance

But lawmakers wouldn’t touch a proposal to increase taxes and issue bonds to take care of a backlog of maintenance projects.

Politically, “the infrastructure plan had problems,” said House Higher Education Committee Chairman Tom Sloan, R-Lawrence.

“The numbers of dollars are significant, and there was a commitment by most in the Legislature not to raise taxes while spending more on K-12 schools,” he said.

Sloan’s committee did recommend a state income surcharge to pay for repairs of buildings at higher education institutions. But the proposal was never considered for a full vote in the House.

Robinson said at least the deferred maintenance problem was aired before several committees. “We hope that will set the table for more progress in the coming session,” he said.

Academy unfunded

The Legislature also approved establishing the Kansas Academy of Math and Science, which will provide an accelerated residential or online program for Kansas high school juniors or seniors who are talented in science or math.

But lawmakers didn’t provide any initial funding. Even so, Robinson said, the regents can start working on the initiative and get it ready to go if the Legislature approves funding next year.

Another proposal that had been sought by KU was to be free of the state’s purchasing requirements. The Regents will pick a research university, probably KU, and a regional university to participate in the pilot project.

KU also lobbied for and received permission for universities to purchase their own insurance for buildings and health insurance for students who want it instead of having to work through the state system.