A group of Kansas business lobbyists may try to persuade lawmakers on ways it says the state could reduce spending on public schools.

The Kansas Business Coalition composed a draft memo of “education efficiency” proposals at a time when some budget experts say state government could face a revenue shortfall of more than $500 million in the next fiscal year.

Ron Hein, a business lobbyist who has participated in meetings of the Kansas Business Coalition, said Friday there has been no final decision on what, if anything, the group will endorse or how it might choose to advocate.

Speaking on behalf of himself, Hein said many business associations are concerned that because of the state budget problems the Legislature may consider tax increases on interests the lobbyists represent.

“The business community is always the first to get worried about whose ox is going to get gored,” Hein said. He said it was reasonable to consider options to make schools more efficient.

But Senate Democratic Leader Anthony Hensley, of Topeka, called the forming coalition of about 20 lobbyists “unprecedented.”

“This is a frontal assault on K through 12 education.” he said. “I think they (the Kansas Business Coalition) are crossing the line.”

He said many of the group’s draft proposals have been opposed by schools, and have been around for years but failed to gain support.

Because of the state’s budget problems, elected officials this year already have cut school districts’ funding nearly $140 million, reducing base state aid per pupil by 4.8 percent, from $4,433 to $4,218. Many school officials say the cuts will hurt student performance and that they believe they are being targeted again for more budget cuts.

According to the draft memo, the coalition is considering proposals to have schools use their contingency funds, encourage administrative consolidation, conduct a review of higher education endowment funds, ban the use of tax dollars by school representatives to lobby for more education funding, and restructure the school finance formula in a way to reduce the burden on the state’s general taxpayer fund.

The memo also discusses a plan to encourage students to get on either an academic or vocational path.

“The plan could eliminate administration without jeopardizing classroom education, and hopefully would get the support of or at least neutralize the opposition of KNEA (Kansas National Education Association),” the memo said.