KPERS Archives - Kansas Policy Institute

2021 Kansas Payrolls: $2.26 billion 0
- Tax & Spending
- May 13, 2022
Kansas payrolls for employees at state agencies and universities totaled $2.26 billion during the 2021 calendar year, including $33.8 million on overtime. Compared to 2020, total pay was 0.3% greater while overtime was 14.2% greater. Complete records on total pay and overtime for state employees can be found on KansasOpenGov.org. The amounts listed in total
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Ideas for ARPA and Kansas Revenue Cash Pile 0
- Tax & Spending
- February 9, 2022
Kansas sits on a massive influx in taxpayer cash. By June, the state’s ending balance is expected to hold a $3 billion surplus as monthly tax revenues continually exceed expectations. On top of this, the state also has its second round of federal ARPA relief funds hitting coffers in May. Kansas isn’t unique in this
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Achievement gaps persist despite KSDE claims 0
- Featured
- December 13, 2021
Deputy Commissioner of Education Brad Neuenswander last week told legislators that achievement gaps began to close after funding was "restored," but as is often the case with KSDE, both claims were misleading. Funding was increased, not cut, and achievement gaps have remained persistently wide. Legislators were told that proficiency – Levels 3 and 4 onREAD MORE

Truth in Accounting Highlights Uncomfortable Truths About Kansas Pensions 0
- Featured
- October 18, 2021
Truth in Accounting’s Financial State of the States for 2021 ranks Kansas 27th in fiscal health nationwide with an overall grade of a D. This rank is due to the state’s $7,500 burden per taxpayer to pay off its $6.7 billion in debt, including unfunded retirement benefit and pension plans. The state has “only set
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$Reversing years of Kansas fiscal mismanagement$
Reversing years of Kansas fiscal mismanagement 0
- Tax & Spending
- November 9, 2020
It is needed now more than ever for the Kansas government to adjust its budget like many Kansas families and businesses are doing today. Kansans painfully adapted to life during the pandemic, but governments around the state have done little to no belt-tightening. With the state 2020 election behind us, Kansans must acknowledge that the
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Educators top KPERS ‘millionaires’ list, system badly underfunded 0
- Tax & Spending
- June 15, 2020
Information provided by the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System (KPERS) shows school officials top the list of KPERS ‘millionaires’ — people who will collect at least $1 million in pension benefits during their first 20 years of retirement. But while government retirees are collecting generous pensions at taxpayers’ expense, the system’s unfunded liabilities are nearly
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