Topeka ? While they are state workers, Kansas University employees wouldn’t be affected by a House Republican proposal to restructure state employee pay.

But KU workers will be affected by what the Legislature appropriates for state employee salaries, which currently is up in the air.

In 2005, KU’s more than 1,400 classified staff left the state civil service system.

“We deliberately separated from the state because they weren’t paying attention to us,” said Kathy Jansen, a KU procurement officer who is among the leaders of the move to depart civil service.

Now KU administrators determine pay increases for employees.

“That’s up to them,” said state Rep. Sharon Schwartz, R-Washington, and chairwoman of the House budget-writing committee.

But it all starts with the Legislature. For KU workers, their pay is related to how much lawmakers appropriate for the school’s block grant.

“The amount of that increase will really help shape what kind of salary increase we will be able to give the employees,” said Theresa Gordzica, KU’s chief business and planning officer.

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius proposed a 5 percent increase in the block grant to regents universities. Lawmakers still are working on those budgets too.

“The last couple of years, we’ve been able to do a little bit better than what the Legislature did for the other state employees,” Gordzica said.

Jansen said the new system has worked well for KU workers, who received, on average, 4.5 percent pay raises for each of the past two years.

Meanwhile, classified state employees last year received a 1.5 percent base pay increase and 2.5 percent step increase.

Currently, lawmakers are fighting over a proposed pay raise for state employees for the fiscal year starting July 1.