• Student weightings add over $1.4 billion in education expenditures

    Student weightings add over $1.4 billion in education expenditures0

    Total K-12 education expenditures for the 2019-20 school year topped the $7 billion mark according to the latest financial figures released by KSDE. Per-pupil expenditures rose 5.42% to $14,848. (KSDE just estimated 2020-21 total spending at $7.3 billion  and per-pupil at $16,216.)  Of the $7 billion spent in 2019-20, just over  $2.1 billion came directly

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  • It is time to change the narrative on public education spending

    It is time to change the narrative on public education spending0

    As the saying goes, to control the narrative is to control the world. When it comes to the sphere of public education, a dominant narrative is that the volume of funding/spending by public education is a determinant of quality. This is exceptionally true in the state of Kansas. The Kansas Supreme Court has made it

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  • 2020 Education FactBook provides 20/20 look at spending and achievement

    2020 Education FactBook provides 20/20 look at spending and achievement0

    KPI has just released the 2020 version of the annual Public Education FactBook . As in previous editions, this is an invaluable resource for data on overall spending, per-pupil spending, assessment results, employment and enrollment and much more. The information provided is on multiple levels – statewide, districtwide, and nationwide – and for multiple years,

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  • National education groups use COVID for federal cash grab

    National education groups use COVID for federal cash grab0

    Former Chicago mayor and presidential press secretary Rahm Emanuel infamously said: “Never let a crisis go to waste.” Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, 12 national public education groups are employing that strategy by asking Congress for $200+ billion additional aid in what is likely to be the next federal stimulus package. In a letter sent to

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  • A closer look at per-pupil spending and student achievement lowers Kansas rank

    A closer look at per-pupil spending and student achievement lowers Kansas rank0

    When comparing 2019 NAEP composite scale scores and per-pupil expenditures among the 50 states, Kansas ranks 27th in both categories. However, when applying a cost-of-living factor to per-pupil spending, a much different picture emerges – Kansas is spending more than most states and achieving less on what KSDE considers the “gold standard” of educational assessments.

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  • Audit shows targeted funding misses at-risk students

    Audit shows targeted funding misses at-risk students0

    (M)ost at-risk spending was used for teachers and programs for all students and did not appear to specifically address at-risk students as required by state law. This statement is the heart of the findings reported by Legislative Post Audit (LPA) in their performance audit K-12 Education: Evaluating At-Risk Student Counts, Weights, and Expenditures released this

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