The maintenance funding compromise reached by members of the Kansas House and Senate Monday barely scratches the surface of the infrastructure problems at the state’s six universities. Local legislators and the CEO of the Kansas Board of Regents graciously accepted the token effort but made it clear they wanted to see this issue back on the legislative agenda next year.

Legislators are calling it a $380 million plan, but it actually provides only $90 million in state revenue spread over the next five years – just $18 million a year – to address approximately $660 million in needed repairs at state universities. Perhaps that will be enough to allow universities to deal with some of their most pressing deficiencies, but by the time those projects are complete, at least another $90 million worth of maintenance needs probably will have been added to the list.

The bill also authorizes $62.6 million in tax credits to try to lure $120 million in private donations to help state universities, Washburn University, community colleges and vocational-technical schools catch up on maintenance. Officials have said it’s difficult to ask donors to direct funding to maintenance projects. That’s understandable, but it also makes little sense to take donated money to build new buildings and make no financial provision for maintaining them. The tax credits seem like a reasonable approach.

The third major component of the Legislature’s plan is to issue $100 million in bonds over the next five years to pay for projects at Washburn, community colleges and vo-tech schools. The schools would have to repay those funds, but the state would pick up the interest costs.

Except for the fact that far more legislators have community colleges or vo-tech schools in their districts than have state universities, it’s puzzling that the state has decided to treat all schools so equitably when it comes to maintenance projects. Community colleges and vo-tech schools are locally owned and operated, yet they will have access to $100 million in no-interest bond money in the next five years while the six state-owned university campuses will be divvying up only $90 million in state revenue. All of the schools are covered by the tax credit program. The state’s obligation to help community colleges and vo-tech schools maintain their campuses is nowhere close to its responsibility to protect its own investment in state-owned buildings on university campuses.

The maintenance compromise predictably came with promises to do more next year. Revenue from state-owned casinos was mentioned frequently as a potential funding source, but it seems unlikely that casino revenue will stretch nearly as far as legislators and the governor hope.

The maintenance package is a start, but given that this was the only major funding proposal put forward by the Board of Regents this year, the Legislature’s response is disappointing. The plan probably will allow universities to no more than stay even with their ongoing maintenance demands. How universities arrived at their current state of disrepair is open to debate, but to allow state-owned buildings and infrastructure to crumble further is a disservice to Kansas taxpayers.