Editorial: Predictable plight

Arbitrary block-grant funding from the state will leave local school districts scrambling to deal with enrollment increases.

Supporters of the legislation that dumped the per-pupil funding formula for K-12 schools in Kansas repeatedly praised the new block-grant system because it would make school funding more “predictable.”

They liked that because they could plug a single number — based on what school districts received the previous year — into the budget and know it wouldn’t change. That works nicely for the Legislature but not so well for school districts who must deal with a number of variables, not the least of which is increased enrollment.

Lawrence school district officials, for instance, expect enrollment to rise this year anywhere from 30 to 130 students. They don’t know how much enrollment will increase but they already know how much their state funding will increase to help them serve those students: zero.

The “predictable” and probably reasonable response to this situation is for Lawrence school officials to seek additional funding from local taxpayers to make sure they can meet their obligations. Last week, the Lawrence school board approved for publication a budget that calls for a local property tax increase of 1.6 mills, an increase of about 2.8 percent. The budget includes about $20 million in new spending but, according to district officials, that figure is skewed because it includes money that wasn’t previously moved through the general operating fund — notably the state funds going to the Kansas Retirement System for Public Employees to support teacher pensions.

Even with a local tax increase, officials say that if enrollment rises significantly, they will have to dip into reserves or cut spending in other areas to hire additional teachers or cover other direct student costs. How much money are they talking about? Well, it’s hard to predict.

That’s the problem school districts face. It’s pretty easy for legislators to predict how much the state will spend on K-12 education. All they have to do is set an arbitrary amount and say that’s all the schools are getting. It’s a lot harder for local districts to figure out how they are going to serve hundreds — or maybe thousands in some larger districts — of additional students without any additional state support.

Legislators have put the block grant funding system in place for two years, during which they say they will put together a new school funding formula. The fact that the state currently is fighting more than one lawsuit alleging that the way it funds K-12 education doesn’t meet the requirements of the Kansas Constitution doesn’t inspire confidence that lawmakers will come up with a better, more equitable way to fund public schools two years from now.