Dave Trabert, Author at Kansas Policy Institute

Kansas #6 in state aid but #36 in achievement productivity 0
- Featured
- May 27, 2020
The 2018 Public Education Finance data from the U.S. Census again confirms Einstein’s definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over again but expecting a different result. Spending per pupil increased by 3.8% nationwide – more than twice the rate of inflation – but achievement is flat or down in most states. Per-pupil spending
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2019 state payroll: $2.17 billion, up 5%0
- Tax & Spending
- May 19, 2020
State agencies and universities spent $2.17 billion on payroll during the 2019 calendar year, including $34.9 million on overtime. Total pay increased by 5% and overtime jumped 15%. Total pay and overtime for every state employee are available on KansasOpenGov.org. KU Athletic Director Jeff Long tops the list of the 20 highest-paid employees, at a
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Will Kansas legislators show up for work on Thursday?0
- Tax & Spending
- May 14, 2020
Kansas legislators return for a critical, one-day wrap-up session on Thursday, May 21 after an extended COVID-induced Spring Break. Typically, it’s mostly a ceremonial day that many legislators willfully choose to miss. This year is different, however. House and Senate members will be dealing with a host of serious issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic,
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School budgets: savings opportunities abound 0
- Education
- May 11, 2020
Last week we explained why we believe education budgets shouldn’t be exempt from COVID budget cuts. In short, there can be no ‘sacred cows’ when the state is facing upwards of a $1 billion budget deficit next year and K-12 consumes about half of General Fund spending. Today we’ll explore some of the many school
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