The Kansas City, Kan., Public Schools district today expressed frustration with a decision this week by the state Finance Council on school funding.
There was a concern by some local school districts that the additional funding announced this week is not enough to pay for the education of additional students.
In Wyandotte County, the Kansas City, Kan., Public Schools received an additional $407,548 for 507 extra students; Piper received $88,272 for additional students; and Bonner Springs did not receive any additional funding, according to figures from the state Department of Education. Bonner Springs had requested $155,094.
The amounts announced this week were an estimate and the numbers will be adjusted after actual enrollment is known on Sept. 21.
“We are extremely frustrated that an increase of 507 students (which is slightly larger than our average building size) receives only $407,000,” commented David A. Smith, chief of communications and governmental affairs for the Kansas City, Kan., Public Schools district. “That means that the State Finance Council is only willing to pay us slightly more than $800 per year, per student, to serve those kids.
“They took more than $500,000 from KCKPS to create the fund, so we didn’t even get back what we put into it,” Smith stated. “That is unfair to our students, our staff, and this community. Obviously, we are going to serve those students, and take the money from somewhere else, so they receive the same quality education as all other students in the district. How we will pay for this has yet to be determined.”
Base state aid per pupil has been the subject of a school finance lawsuit and in the past has totaled several thousands of dollars per pupil.
In the Piper Public Schools, the state Finance Council has approved as much as $88,272 in additional funding. Piper had requested $163,000. The Piper district has had increased enrollment over projected levels this year.
Piper Superintendent Tim Conrad stated: “Our request was based on two factors:
1. Increased enrollment
2. Overall reduction of L.O.B. and Capital Outlay Aid
“We had hoped for the amount awarded based on overall enrollment growth, without a percentage attached to the formula, in order to compensate for a reduction of state aid in LOB and Capital Outlay of approximately $225,000 for this year and again next year. Considering an average enrollment growth of 3-5 percent every year since 2008, and with the base aid per pupil today lower than it was in 2007/08, the amount requested would have covered the cost of educating the additional students for this year but would not come near to addressing the reduction of aid versus the increased costs to educate a child since 2007-2008. Our enrollment has increased 40-65 students per year on average for the past eight years.
“Although appreciative, the amount awarded is still contingent upon final enrollment headcount on September 21,” Conrad continued. “With the 2 percent factored into the equation, our additional revenue could be anywhere from $40,000 to $88,000, a far cry from the original recommendation of 1 percent, or $163,000 for our district, by state budget director Shawn Sullivan. Each district in the state was required to fund the Extraordinary Growth Fund. The amount each district contributed was based on a percentage of their overall General Fund. Our contribution was: $35,083. Our share of funding for the Extraordinary Growth Fund should be covered by the amount awarded. Any additional amount will go to help offset the hiring of additional staff, purchasing of supplies and resources. The anticipated amount, after covering our contribution, should equate to a range of 10 percent to 40 percent of additional costs incurred by increased enrollment. We will continue to seek a means to provide for the excess costs of funding quality instruction and providing opportunities that our children deserve.”
In the Bonner Springs School District, Superintendent Dan Brungardt stated: “This wasn’t the outcome we had hoped for. Our district has done a lot to reduce costs on our end. We’ve implemented an effective energy management program, taken over our special education busing so it’s no longer outsourced and we’ve made an effort to streamline as many operation processes as possible. We’ve got an amazing group of administrators and educators working each day to give USD 204 students the very best education possible. Our district is extremely thankful for the support of our local Rep. Tom Burroughs, whose vote would have gone in favor of our request. It’s disappointing that not all of our legislators are able to fully support our needs, but we have a strong learning community and will work with the provided resources to make sure the kids in our classrooms do not have to feel the repercussions of the Council’s decision.”
Additional funds that were distributed statewide to school districts for “extraordinary needs” totaled more than $6 million, according to the state.
Two of the top allocations this week were to District 507 in Satanta, Kan., for $436,648; followed by District 270, Plainville, Kan., for $417,202, according to the state Department of Education. These were listed under “loss of assessed valuation.” District 407 in Russell County, Kan., also received $406,392 for loss of assessed valuation.
District 500 in Kansas City, Kan., received the second highest amount for increased enrollment. District 230 in Spring Hill, Kan., received an additional $428,799 for increased enrollment, according to the state Department of Education.
District 458, Basehor-Linwood, Kan., received an additional $192,850, according to the KSDE.