A controversial task force that Gov. Sam Brownback appointed to study public school spending is holding its third and probably final meeting today.

The Governor’s School Efficiency Task Force was initially under fire because it was dominated by accountants and no one on it was an educator or worked in a school. Brownback also established a website where people could make anonymous reports of their experiences with inefficient spending in the educational system.

Democrats and education groups said the task force was set up to attack public schools.
In the task force’s first meeting on Oct. 8, it heard from the Kansas Policy Institute, which has been a critic of how schools spend money.

In setting up the task force, the governor’s office said that only 15 of the state’s 286 school districts complied with a state law that requires at least 65 percent of state funds be spent in the classroom. But there is no such legal requirement, and school officials released a report that showed based on state funding, all school districts were surpassing the 65 percent level.

The task force is expected to make recommendations to Brownback soon.