Wichita ? Budget cuts are leading to significant cuts to a Kansas program designed to enhance career and technical education.

The Wichita Eagle reports that school districts this year will get less than half the monetary incentives they expected. The incentives are part of a 2012 initiative that called for the state to help pay tuition for high school students enrolled in career and technical education at a community or technical college. It also helped provide those students with transportation to take those classes.

The Kansas State Department of Education said in a memo last week that the per-pupil payment for students who obtained certificates in certain high-demand fields will be “approximately $450” for the just-completed school year. That’s down from a $1,000 per-student incentive promised in the initial legislation.