Lawrence School Supt. Carl Knox said he was disappointed by Gov. John Carlin’s 1983 budget proposal for state aid to public schools. Carlin’s budget, which included funds from a proposed severance tax for the state, limited school districts the size of that in Lawrence to 8 percent budget growth, about a full percent behind what local officials felt was necessary.

Kansas University began to feel the repercussions from its first enrollment decline since 1977 as Gov. John Carlin recommended the 1983 Kansas Legislature eliminate 15 full-time faculty positions at the Lawrence school for the coming fiscal year. At the same time, the governor recommended an 8.75 percent increase for faculty salaries.