School Funding Archives - Kansas Policy Institute

Busting the Kansas PTA MythBusters 0
- Education
- March 26, 2019
The March 2019 issue of the Kansas PTA MythBusters begins with this statement: “Be aware that statistics can be used to provide clarity or to create a cloud of doubt to misdirect.” It then proceeds with a litany of misdirection, including: Misdirection #1: “over $1 billion in cuts made to public schools…” since 2009 Fact:
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Is more money helping Kansas students?0
- Education
- March 7, 2019
There’s a lot of disagreement right now in the Kansas legislature about K-12 education in Kansas. Funding set a record last year at $13,600 per-pupil, and another billion dollar increase is planned. Governor Laura Kelly says schools still need more money while others, like Senate President Susan Wagle, say decades of school litigation and costly
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Solving the Kansas Budget Crisis 0
- Tax & Spending
- March 7, 2019
Simply removing the Governor’s proposal won’t solve the state budget. Policymakers must find a way to reduce spending by roughly $518 million over four years. We’ve written previously on the Kansas budget debate with a clear-eyed look at the impact of different proposals. The key moving forward is to close the gap remaining in the
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Reports of Budget Surplus Ignore Imbalance 0
- Tax & Spending
- November 15, 2018
The State of Kansas is heading towards a cliff despite reports of budget surplus and campaign rhetoric. State budget analysts show Kansas deficit spending next year, and empty reserves by 2022. This is due to current levels of spending outpacing tax revenues. Something will have to give as the legislature and incoming governor decide how
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Per-Pupil funding tops $14,000 in Kansas 0
- Education
- November 9, 2018
The Kansas Department of Education says per-pupil funding will set another new record this year at $14,116, exceeding last year’s record of $13,620. Total funding is expected to be $6.75 billion this year. The information shown in the table below was provided by Deputy Commissioner Dale Dennis. Most of the increase comes from state funding
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Schools misinterpret ‘efficiency’ in WestEd study 0
- Education
- November 1, 2018
The WestEd school funding cost study commissioned earlier this year by the Kansas legislature has been cited by some education officials as saying school efficiency is very high, meaning there is little room to reduce costs in the state’s 286 school districts. But that’s a misinterpretation. Dr. Lori Taylor, lead author of the study, graciously
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