by Rep. Stan Frownfelter, D-37th Dist.
It was a busy week in the Legislature this week. Both the House and the Senate debated and passed their versions of the budget this week.
Passing a budget is one of the few actual Constitutional requirements of the Legislature. We should expect both budgets to be voted on in the opposite chamber in the coming weeks.
Legislative committees continue to meet and hold hearings on various bills. Also expected in the coming weeks are hearings on the efficiency study (a study done by an outside auditor looking for savings) and their recommendations. All said, the pace has really picked up.
Court rules Legislature underfunding education
On Thursday, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled that K-12 education funding levels violate the state Constitution. This case dealt with the issue of equality. The state Constitution requires the Legislature to provide funding to the school districts in an equitable manner so that not one school district has more funding than another. The Legislature eliminated the old school funding formula and replaced it with a block grant system. The school districts challenged the block grant as not allocating funds equitably.
The court has instructed the Legislature to create a funding formula by June 30th. The court did not provide a specific amount the Legislature must come up but it is estimated the amount is near $70 million for this school year.
This opinion was the first of two anticipated opinions in the school finance case. The remaining opinion is on the issue of adequacy and should be settled by the court later this year, most likely in the fall. The state Constitution requires the Legislature to “adequately” fund k-12 schools and the anticipated second opinion will deal with that issue.
Funding of our schools has been cut several times the last few years and we are starting to see the results. Schools are closing, teachers are fleeing the state, and districts have to make tough choices on what programs to offer students in light of continued budget cuts. I strongly support public education in this state and I applaud this decision.
House passes budget
With a $170 million shortfall the House debated and passed a budget this week. The final vote was close, passing 68-56, but all Democrats voted against this budget. The budget relies on more sweeps from the state Highway Fund and KPERS something that has been done time and time again and does not address the growing public safety needs of our state.
The Senate also passed their budget bill this week as well and it is fairly similar to the version the House passed. Look for each budget to be voted on in the opposite chamber in the coming weeks.
The budget does nothing to move Kansas forward. Rather than producing a budget based on sound economic policies and addressing our current economic situation this budget continues the mismanagement of this state. I voted no on this budget.
Lots of action in House Education Committee
The House Education Committee held several hearings this session that would greatly affect public education is Kansas. For instance, as we talked about last week, the committee debated a bill that would consolidate many school districts (from the current 286 to 132). Many rural districts would be consolidated under this bill. The bill received strong opposition from school districts, teachers and parents. The committee has not actually voted on the bill yet, and the chair has indicated he will not hold a vote on it, but we will keep our eyes open for that.
Also considered in the House Education Committee was a bill that removed due process rights for teachers and professors of two-year colleges. This bill received strong opposition in committee as well from professors and administrators. The committee has not voted on the bill yet but it is expected to in the coming weeks.
A bill that was in committee was one that removed all funding for school gifted programs. The bill received lots of backlash from the public and schools, so much so, the legislator who introduced the bill eventually withdrew it from consideration.
Each of these bills is a continuation of the attacks on teachers and education in our state that we have seen from legislators the last few years. These years of attacks have taken a toll on our schools. This has had real consequences for the quality of education our children receive. This mismanagement and attacks has harmed our children’s education and has forced schools to close, created larger class sizes, has caused local property taxes to rise and quality teachers to flee the state. Our children’s education will continue to suffer under this mismanagement and attacks.
Democrats unveil public safety bills
This week Democrats championed bills to improve public safety for Kansans. Due to years of mismanagement by the governor and the Republican legislature we have real safety concerns in our state.
The bills Democrats support:
• Senate Bill 350: Giving the Highway Patrol the needed funds to address the trooper shortage. To create a staffing and training fund for the Kansas Highway Patrol. Currently, there are dangerously low amounts of troopers in our state due to trooper turnover and a lack of funding to hire additional troopers. The reason for the turnover, as the head of the Highway Patrol has stated, is pay has been stagnant for years and many troopers have left the force to serve in other states or other communities where the pay is more competitive.
• House Bill 2559: Establishes minimum staffing levels for state agencies/facilities to maintain security and safety. There have been several safety incidents in our prisons due to the lack of Corrections Officers. Just like the troopers, Corrections Officers have been leaving the state looking for better opportunities. Also, staffing shortages has created a safety concern at our state hospitals. Due to the staff shortages one state hospital has lost the ability to receive Medicare funds.
• House Bill 2452: Prohibits giving, selling, or transferring any firearm to a person who is identified in the terrorist screening database, or any other database, maintained by the FBI. Keeping guns out of the hands of terrorists is a common sense solution to help keep Kansans safe.
Keeping the people of Kansas safe should be job one for any governor and every legislator and that is why we are busy introducing proven, common sense fixes to our state’s growing public safety problems.
Keep in touch
It is a special honor to serve as your state representative. I value and need your input on the various issues facing state government. Please feel free to contact me with your comments and questions. My office address is Room 174-W, 300 SW 10th, Topeka, KS 66612. You can reach me at 785-296-7691 or call the legislative hotline at 1-800-432-3924 to leave a message for me. Additionally, you can email me at [email protected]. You can also follow the legislative session online at www.kslegislature.org.