New data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows Kansas had the 6th highest share of school funding provided by state government in 2015. State school funding comprised 66 percent of total funding in Kansas, while the national average for state school funding was 47 percent. The national average for local taxpayer support was 45 percent but Kansas local taxpayers only … Read More
School Cash Reserves Hit $203 Billion
U.S. Census data just released shows school cash reserves for 45 states set a new record in 2015 at $203 billion, up from $188 billion in 2014. Alaska, Hawaii, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia and the District of Columbia are not included in the totals because Census says their schools districts’ holdings cannot be separated from the assets of their parent … Read More
$1.6 Billion Pension Payouts; Over 2,000 KPERS ‘Millionaires’
An Open Records request fulfilled by the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System (KPERS) shows record-setting payouts in 2016 of $1.6 billion. The number of KPERS ‘millionaires’ also set a new record, with 2,007 government retirees expected to receive more than $1 million in pension benefits over their first 20 years of retirement. Pensions are paid over the lifespan of each … Read More
New School Funding Formula is Bad for Students and Citizens
The new school funding formula on its way to the Governor’s desk could have been a lot worse if the education lobby got all it wanted, but it’s still bad legislation for students and citizens. The funding is much higher than necessary, causing citizens to be excessively taxed, and most important, schools are not held accountable for improving outcomes. The … Read More
79 Districts Lost Students, Added Staff
You’d never know it from media reports or listening to the education lobby in Topeka, but 79 districts that lost students this year actually increased employment! And perhaps the greatest complainer of them all – Kansas City – added more employees than students. The adjacent table includes some of the more eye-opening disparities. Hutchinson (one of the districts diverting money … Read More
Dedicating Income Tax to Schools is Just Pandering; There’s Also a Downside
Dedicating income tax collections to school funding is the latest “Here, hold my beer” notion to come out of the Kansas Legislature this session, proving once again Thomas Sowell’s take on politics. He said, “No one will really understand politics until they understand that politicians are not trying to solve our problems. They are trying to solve their own problems … Read More
School Debt Sets New Record at $5.56 Billion
Kansas school bond debt set another record for the 2015-16 school year at $5.56 billion spread across 183 districts. Data provided by the Kansas Department of Education shows school districts loaded up on a lot of new debt since 2005: $5.2 billion in new bond debt was issued by 149 districts. Debt Service payments totaled $4.9 billion. Bonded indebtedness increased $2.4 billion … Read More
Kansas Legislature to Citizens – let them eat cake
With the 2017 Kansas Legislature careening toward a close, the majority of legislators in both chambers are doubling down on efforts to gouge citizens and leave generations of students behind so that those who profit from excessive and inefficient government can prosper. For those who might think that statement hyperbolical, consider the evidence: As shown separately by the Kansas Truth … Read More
Student Outcomes Not Improving Despite Huge increases in Education Spending
As the Kansas Legislature decides just how many hundreds of millions of dollars more to give to K-12 education, keep this in mind: using history as a guide, all that money will not improve student outcomes. The graphics are a testament to that. Combining per pupil spending, employment and enrollment data from KSDE with NAEP reading and math scores it … Read More
Math error could cost taxpayers $83 million per year
Senate Bill 251, which is the Kansas Senate’s proposed new school funding formula, contains an unintentional math error that could cost citizens $83 million per year in unnecessary taxation if not corrected. The methodology for calculating Base State Aid Per Pupil (BSAPP) in the new formula is based on actual spending of 41 districts identified that exceeded specific outcomes. Kansas … Read More