Public schools, higher education face more cuts in Kansas budget / LJWorld.com

Archive for Thursday, July 2, 2009

Governor cuts schools, higher ed by 2 percent

Public schools and higher education were cut 2 percent by Gov. Mark Parkinson on Thursday as part of a $160 million budget-reduction plan.

By Scott Rothschild

July 2, 2009, 11:34 a.m. Updated July 2, 2009, 4:58 p.m.

Parkinson details Kansas budget outlook

Kansas Governor Mark Parkinson discussed Thursday the state's dire budget situation. Enlarge video

Topeka — Public schools and higher education were cut 2 percent by Gov. Mark Parkinson on Thursday as part of a $160 million plan to balance the state budget amid falling tax revenues.

“My plan is a responsible reaction to the current struggles we face,” Parkinson said at a news conference.

He said his cuts will spare human services and most of public safety.

But that left essentially a 2-percent cut to most of the rest of state finances, which have already suffered several rounds of budget cuts.

The newest cut in general state aid to schools will total $39.1 million, while higher education will take a $15.3 million hit, including an estimated $2.77 million at Kansas University’s Lawrence campus, and $2.24 million at the KU Medical Center.

In addition, the Kansas Department of Transportation will cut $30 million in road maintenance over the next year.

The package also included some revenue adjustments, such as an increase in federal funds because of the state’s increasing unemployment rate.

In addition, Parkinson said he will seek approval from legislative leaders on Monday to issue $700 million in certificates of indebtedness, basically using state government reserve funds to pay for tax refunds and school payments that have been held up in recent days.

Parkinson said if state revenues don’t recover over the next year, a tax increase may be needed.

“We need our revenues to stabilize over the next 12 months. If they don’t stabilize in the next 12 months, we’re going to have to put a lot of other options on the table and among those options would be revenue enhancements,” he said.

Parkinson said there were some programs he simply wasn’t willing to cut anymore.

Kathy Cook, executive director of Kansas Families for Education, was more direct.

She blamed the Legislature for passing tax cuts when it should have been investing more in education. “Eating your seed corn fills your belly today but guarantees you will starve tomorrow,” she said.

Prior to Parkinson’s announcement, House Republican leaders issued a blistering news release blaming Democrats for overspending in the budget. That budget was also supported by moderate Republicans.

“Everyone knew the shortfalls were coming, but the Democrats in the Legislature felt it was politically expedient to avoid making critical votes to tame the state budget,” said House Speaker Mike O’Neal, R-Hutchinson.

Parkinson, a Democrat, said the criticism was off base. Because of sinking revenue, even a House Republican leadership-backed budget proposal during the recent legislative session would have ended up in the red, he said.

Having already dealt with several rounds of budget cuts during the legislative session, education advocates seemed resigned to the fact that the worsening budget situation was falling on them.

“Unfortunately, this year’s cuts have undone several years of budgetary progress by essentially taking higher education back to 2006 funding levels,” said Kansas Board of Regents Chairwoman Jill Docking.

The state’s higher education budget has been cut 12 percent, or $100 million this year, the regents said.

Barbara Atkinson, Kansas University’s interim chancellor, said that KU stood ready to help with the existing budget crisis.

“We certainly want to do what we need to do and what we can do to help the state and everybody that needs services from the state get through this difficult time,” Atkinson said.

However, she said the cuts are beginning to hit the bone.

KU recently received approval to increase tuition for many students by 6 percent, and increase the four-year-compact rate for incoming freshmen by 7 percent. Officials said the increases were needed in part to help deal with expected cuts.

Atkinson said she would be meeting with faculty on both campuses soon to determine how best to move forward.

A budget forum has been scheduled for noon Wednesday at Alderson Auditorium in the Kansas Union for the KU community to attend, and more details will be revealed at that time, she said.

The 2-percent cut to public schools will hurt, said Mark Tallman, with the Kansas Association of School Boards. Schools had already been cut $124 million.

“The concern, of course, is that we’ve made so much progress in recent years with additional funding, but when you take away those dollars we firmly believe in the long run it’s going to have an impact on student achievement, and an impact on student achievement is going to have an impact on the long-term economic future of this state,” Tallman said.

Parkinson said he realized the cuts were unpleasant, but he said he was confident the state would rebound.

“We understand the pain that is out there, but I continue steadfast in my optimism,” he said. “I am 100 percent sure that we will come out of this recession and when we come out of it we will be better and stronger than we were before.”

Discussion

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2 July 2009
at 12:05 p.m.

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oohmgrover (Anonymous) says…

I feel like I'm being continually beaten. Love going through 5 years of schooling being told all about teacher shortages, and now no one can hire anyone.
2 July 2009
at 12:08 p.m.

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1029 (Anonymous) says…

What's he trying to do? Create more republicans?
2 July 2009
at 12:17 p.m.

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toe (Anonymous) says…

Higher taxes ahead. The government we have is more than we can afford and has been for a long long time.
2 July 2009
at 12:44 p.m.

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Kookamooka (Anonymous) says…

OMG. There goes my job. I thought I was going to be OK for next year but I'm sure my district will cut the arts now. Scrambling for plan B.
2 July 2009
at 12:52 p.m.

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dandelion (Anonymous) says…

What about just not giving more tax cuts. That's what's happening. Apparently, the tax cuts given to business at the federal level is also given at the state level, unless the state doesn't allow it. So the businesses get a double cut, so they can create jobs? So where are these jobs? Trickle down of money doesn't happen. Tie business tax cuts into how many jobs they create, and don't give them the cut until they have created the jobs. Jobs first, then tax cut.
2 July 2009
at 1:32 p.m.

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Marion (Marion Lynn) says…

Yep, cut funding to education but build them football fields so they can kick off, so they can kick off!*

*Reference: Bill Cosby: “Hofstra”, “Why Is There Air?”, 1965, lest I be termed a “racist” again by the goofballs of the Looney Left.
2 July 2009
at 1:54 p.m.

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logicsound09 (Anonymous) says…

“Whether the private sector creates enough jobs is irrelevant, they create the wealth”

––––—

Irrelevant? That's the reason we're always given for why we need to ease taxes on businesses.

And I'd think that by now, people would have learned that the generalized notion that private industry creates wealth is an overstatement of reality.

Successful, innovative businesses create wealth, but our tax breaks are not specific to those businesses. Similarly, on the other side of the coin, there are definitely areas of the public sector that waste tax revenue, but there are also areas that put it to good use.

I am tired of the intellectually lazy “public vs. private” sector argument. Neither is always good nor always bad, and these false arguments cause us to miss out on actual problems and actual solutions.

2 July 2009
at 2:13 p.m.

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Liberty_One (Anonymous) says…

logicsound09 (Anonymous) says…

“I am tired of the intellectually lazy “public vs. private” sector argument. Neither is always good nor always bad, and these false arguments cause us to miss out on actual problems and actual solutions.”

Private sector ventures are not always “good” or successful, but the thing is, there is a weed-out process to get rid of the bad ones—lack of profits. Of course with government intervention, even those businesses that are failures aren't being weeded out anymore like they should—as long as they have powerful friends. In a true free market, however, because of the weed-out process, the majority of private ventures would be successful, efficient and providing for the population's wants and needs.

Government ventures are just the opposite. The least successful programs get showered with more money while any program that actually accomplishes its goals gets no increase in funding. Unsuccessful, “bad” programs continue on, grow larger and drag the economy down with them.

I would restate “private good, public bad” to “freedom good, compulsion bad.”
2 July 2009
at 2:30 p.m.

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ConcernedCynic (Anonymous) says…

It's a good thing that we are cutting educations some more. One thing that's for certain is that long-term growth will surely happen in a state full of un/undereducated people.

Now how can we spin this budget shortfall so that we can blame KU Athletics Corp?
2 July 2009
at 2:42 p.m.

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kugrad (Anonymous) says…

Just remember that the State cut revenue from gaming monies coming from out-of-state (cut taxes for non-Kansans), and have a 200 million plus surplus that they don't want to acknowledge because they'd have to do their job and change some of the ridiculous laws that they wrote back when they were in a tax-cutting frenzy. We, typical working people, never saw any tax reductions because our local sales and property taxes went up to offset the monies that used to come from the state.

We should require lawmakers to pass the sort of competency tests that teachers and other professionals must pass to get a state license.
2 July 2009
at 2:42 p.m.

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logicsound09 (Anonymous) says…

“Private sector ventures are not always “good” or successful, but the thing is, there is a weed-out process to get rid of the bad ones—lack of profits.”

––––––-

Well, as you subsequently noted, our system doesn't function that way.

And in certain arenas—education being one—we can't really afford the transition cost of having an unsuccessful (see: unprofitable) schools get “weeded out”, especially in areas where there may only be one school available.

I can't really speak to the general rule that unsuccessful government programs receive more funding than successful ones. I can envision the reasoning—give funding to failing programs in an effort to help them succeed and leave successful programs funding static, as they are already succeeding—but I'm not so sure that it always happens that way. Obviously, throwing money at a problem doesn't necessarily solve it, but I'm not sure the answer is disbanding government in general.
2 July 2009
at 4:42 p.m.

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jaywalker (Anonymous) says…

Gotta stop cuttin' elhi education. Higher ed. can seek funds in other ways, but our public ed. is already scramblin'. And the first and last cuts should always be in government.
2 July 2009
at 4:55 p.m.

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logicsound09 (Anonymous) says…

Yes, I'd be curious to see how much money could be saved by salary cuts to state legislators and other fairly-well compensated state employees…
2 July 2009
at 5:41 p.m.

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srj (Anonymous) says…

Gov. Schwarzenegger flat out refuses to raise taxes, and look what's happening there. BTW, saw Grey Davis on TV yesterday. Can you un-recall a governor? He has to be laughing his butt off at how screwed up that state is right now.
2 July 2009
at 5:42 p.m.

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Sigmund (Anonymous) says…

icedoverhillon14th (Anonymous) says… “no new taxes! no new taxes! im soooo happy my kids wont go to school in lawrence.”

So are we. You might try moving to California where things are much better!

2 July 2009
at 6:20 p.m.

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Sigmund (Anonymous) says…

“Parkinson declined to say where he would cut, but the big-ticket items in the state budget are public schools, social services, and higher education, which together make up 85 percent of expenditures.”
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2009/jun…

85% of all Kansas budget expenditures are spent on public schools, higher education, and social services, eighty-five percent. Remember all the increases that Gov. Kathy spent in that area? It is absurd to believe they can't take 85% of the cuts now and continue to educate our kids (including basic economics and accounting). Is it any wonder she was so anxious to get the hell out of Dodge?

FYI, Jill Docking Kansas Board of Regents Chairwoman was a vice president with Wachovia Securities, the failed investment firm that had to be bailed out and was at the forefront of national liar and interest only home loans, otherwise known as sub-prime, that brought down Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae which began the current recession/depression bailouts.
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2008/apr…
http://www.newsobserver.com/business/…

Further, Kathy Cook executive director of Kansas Families for Education couldn't even raise or educate her own kids. Seriously and for real dear bloggers, with “leadership” like these two this is going to get much much worse before it gets any better. You had better tighten the belts very very tight right now and keep it that way. Ignorance of basic economics doesn't mean you are immune for the inevitable impact.
2 July 2009
at 6:26 p.m.

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jumpin_catfish (Anonymous) says…

Sounds like we got too much government folks. It's all Bush's fault.
2 July 2009
at 6:34 p.m.

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jumpin_catfish (Anonymous) says…

Oh forgot this, did I miss something waka1 when did you learn to speak, spell, think etc etc? I gotta pay more attention.
2 July 2009
at 8:59 p.m.

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kugrad (Anonymous) says…

I'm sad that icedoverhillon14th's and Sigmunds kids won't go to the Lawrence Public Schools. Since the schools are excellent and these adults don't recognize that, their kids will lose out on a chance to become better consumers of information than their parents.
2 July 2009
at 9:02 p.m.

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dinglesmith (Anonymous) says…

Come on republicans, this is perfect! Government is getting smaller. You have a lame duck democratic governor forced to cut popular programs you don't like, but don't have the hutzpah to cut yourself. O'Neal gets to take this opportunity to blame the tiny democratic minority in the house for his failure to lead. You can scream bloody murder about bigger federal government while cashing in on subsidies. You guys are getting everything you want, you have someone else you can blame the nasty parts on, and you're complaining about it.
2 July 2009
at 9:34 p.m.

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somebodynew (Anonymous) says…

What I want to know is the LJW policy on Breaking News. (They seem to have a policy for anything criminal.) Why does a story stay with the red banner as Breaking News when it is many hours old, AND according to the tag has been “updated”?? And in this case, more than 4 HOURS ago.
2 July 2009
at 9:34 p.m.

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texburgh (Anonymous) says…

A few facts:

The cumulative impact of corporate tax cuts and sales tax exemptions passed since 2005 is over $180 million. A study commissioned by the legislature revealed that all these corporate tax cuts and spending on enticing businesses has had no impact on job creation. Legislators ignore it and pass more corporate cuts.
The republican leadership budgets offered also had a $0 ending balance - if any of them had been adopted, the Governor still would have had to make cuts.
O'Neal blames the Democrats but there are only 49 Dems in the House - 14 short of a simple majority - and only 9 Dems in the Senate - 12 short of a simple majority. They must be quite powerful if they passed this budget by themselves! Either that or a lot of republican legislators don't bother to vote!
O'Neal and Kevin Yoder want nothing more than to reverse the education funding gains made after the state lost a lawsuit. O'Neal views this economic downturn as the perfect excuse to gut school funding. Yoder is his lapdog.
If you want excellent schools and colleges and real economic development, then you must be willing to vote conservative republicans out of office. Replace them with real Republicans like Tom Sloan or with Democrats. When that group becomes a solid majority, Kansas can move forward.
2 July 2009
at 9:58 p.m.

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KathyCookShawnee (Anonymous) says…

Sigmund, don't be a coward and hide behind a screen name. You attack me not for my views, but as a parent. You don't know me and you don't know my family.

I guarantee you my son's IQ is higher than yours. And I thank everyone of his teachers and our public school system.

I have nothing but pity for you and feel sorry for your family. I'm not ashamed of what I believe to hide behind a screen name.

2 July 2009
at 10:03 p.m.

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Sigmund (Anonymous) says…

kugrad (Anonymous) says… “I'm sad that icedoverhillon14th's and Sigmunds kids won't go to the Lawrence Public Schools.”

I am sure that even with the cuts Lawrence schools will be just as good or bad as they ever were, it was icedoverhillon1 who was threatening a boycott.

What exact opportunity will be lost to Lawrence school kids if the budget is cut? Or is it simply that you think more money must equal better education? The state of Kansas spends 85% of its budget on schools, higher education, and social programs. What amount will make you happy, 105%?

texburgh (Anonymous) says… “The cumulative impact of corporate tax cuts and sales tax exemptions passed since 2005 is over $180 million. A study commissioned by the legislature revealed that all these corporate tax cuts and spending on enticing businesses has had no impact on job creation.”

Do you have a link for either the amount or for the lack impact?
2 July 2009
at 10:10 p.m.

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Sigmund (Anonymous) says…

KathyCookShawnee (Anonymous) says… “Sigmund, don't be a coward and hide behind a screen name. You attack me not for my views, but as a parent. You don't know me and you don't know my family.”

Apologies. I mistook you for a different Kathy Cook that I do know. After your post I found your picture on this site and realized my mistake. I should have checked much more carefully before posting. Once again my sincerest apologies to both you and your family.
2 July 2009
at 10:30 p.m.

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Sigmund (Anonymous) says…

KathyCookShawnee (Anonymous) says… “I guarantee you my son's IQ is higher than yours. And I thank everyone of his teachers and our public school system.”

Yes, yes I quite am sure of that as well, but my property taxes are current, are yours?
http://wichitaliberty.org/wichita-kan…

KathyCookShawnee (Anonymous) says… “I have nothing but pity for you and feel sorry for your family. I'm not ashamed of what I believe to hide behind a screen name.”

We don't need your pity, we do need you to pay your taxes as we are facing quite a shortfall and are having to makes cuts.
http://wichitaliberty.org/wichita-kan…
2 July 2009
at 10:30 p.m.

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KathyCookShawnee (Anonymous) says…

Sigmund I accept your apology. However, by not checking your facts before posting you have destroyed your credibility.

Texburgh is partially correct, the figure is $860 million for the years 2003-2007. And there's your link.
http://www.kslegislature.org/postaudi…
2 July 2009
at 10:46 p.m.

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Sigmund (Anonymous) says…

KathyCookShawnee (Anonymous) says… “Sigmund I accept your apology. However, by not checking your facts before posting you have destroyed your credibility.”

Really? Over 4500 posts and in the few cases where I have been mistaken (no one is perfect) I have promptly admitted the mistake and corrected it and somehow my credibility is destroyed? I do not know how I will be able to sleep soundly and in the morning look myself in the mirror.
2 July 2009
at 11:01 p.m.

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Sigmund (Anonymous) says…

KathyCookShawnee (Anonymous) says… “Texburgh is partially correct, the figure is $860 million for the years 2003-2007. And there's your link.”
http://www.kslegislature.org/postaudi…

Thanks for the link, the Kansas Post Audit Division does great work and I am fan.

texburgh (Anonymous) says… A few facts: The cumulative impact of corporate tax cuts and sales tax exemptions passed since 2005 is over $180 million. A study commissioned by the legislature revealed that all these corporate tax cuts and spending on enticing businesses has had no impact on job creation. Legislators ignore it and pass more corporate cuts.”

Here are the conclusions that I found in the report.

Question 3: What Results Can Be Seen from State Spending for Economic Development in Kansas?

Question 3 Conclusion. Despite the problems that exist with some of the results data related to the State’s economic development programs and tax credit —including the fact that much of it is self-reported and unverified, and some is double-counted—the data State agencies reported to us do suggest that some programs have achieved significant results. Looking at a more macro-level, our own analyses showed that economic development spending has had a small but statistically measurable relationship with job and business growth in recent years. However, other factors had a far larger impact on job growth, including pre-existing population and employment levels.

Question 3 Recommendations for Executive Action. We recommended that KTEC ensure that its new software system for tracking information on companies it invests in include information on investment data, survey results, capital expenditures, funding companies obtain from other sources, and results of staff reviews and/or quarterly financial statements, and that it be able to produce summary information on a periodic basis for its Board of Directors.
3 July 2009
at 12:03 a.m.

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notajayhawk (Anonymous) says…

KathyCookShawnee (Anonymous) says…

“I guarantee you my son's IQ is higher than yours. And I thank everyone of his teachers and our public school system.”

I hope someone's in the family is. IQ has nothing to do with teachers or the public school system. It's more a measure of the capacity to learn rather than what's been taught.
3 July 2009
at 2:53 p.m.

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logicsound09 (Anonymous) says…

You beat me to it notajayhawk. A person's IQ should be roughly the same for the entirety of their life.

3 July 2009
at 3:46 p.m.

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deskboy04 (Anonymous) says…

The only answer for education is consolidation. Douglas County only needs one school district. Think of the incredible money that could be saved if we didn't have to pay so many administrators. Think of the money that could be saved on facilities.