Iola schools have little chance of seeing any of the proposed $129 million that legislators say they will direct to public schools to satisfy a recent court ruling demanding equal funding among state schools. Additional funding comes from two sources.
“At best, we’ll keep the status quo,” said Jack Koehn, USD 257 superintendent of schools.
That’s because legislators are robbing Peter to pay Paul.
For rural school districts, the most damage will come from big cuts to districts’ transportation budgets and their online virtual education programs.
In the Senate, the Ways and Means committee has the responsibility to draft a school finance plan. In the House of Representatives, the responsibility lands on the Appropriations committee.
Under the current Senate plan, Iola would lose $13,482 in its transportation budget, while the House would cut transportation by $47,545.
“We’ll lose the money, but will still have the same number of kids to pick up, and the same fuel costs,” Koehn said. “There’s no way we can adjust our service to meet a lower budget. The demand will remain the same.”
Iola does not have a virtual education program, but Humboldt does. The program allows non-traditional students to obtain a high school diploma through an online-only program. Under the Senate version, Humboldt stands to lose $445,013. The House school finance plan eliminates $95,698 from the program.
Other cuts would be to programs that help students who have failed in math and reading and are regarded as “non-proficient” in those two subjects. Iola will lose $13,482 that it directed to tutoring these students to regain these credits that are crucial to their high school graduation. Humboldt stands to lose $5,393 in this category.
1. Raising the base state aid per pupil by $14. For USD 257 that would net $63,285, and;
2. Restoring funding to the capital outlay aid and local option budgets. In the proposals the state restores full funding of a district LOB funding, which had been prorated at 78 percent for the last several years, and for the first time since 2010 restores capital outlay funding.
If these are realized, the district could see property tax relief of $415, 420.
Despite those increases, Iola would still stand to lose $518 in the Senate version, and $33,425 in the House plan. Humboldt would lose $506,618 and $168,171 respectively. Marmaton Valley faces losses of $37,241 under the Senate plan and $53,738 under the House version
“Unfortunately, we have people deciding school finance, who don’t understand school finance,” Koehn said. “People are quick to say you should run a school like a business. When you can’t determine your budget, that’s very difficult to do.”
It’s been seven years since school administrators have been close to what was ruled adequate funding for schools.
“By now, we have the mentality, ‘it could have been worse,’” Koehn said of the recent number crunching by legislators.
“In the old days, we could count on legislators giving us something each year,” he said.
“Our greatest need is facilities,” Koehn said. “If we had more classroom space, better facilities for science labs and the like, then we could add programs that would better prepare our students for solid careers.”
“None of the proposals bring new money to our schools,” he said. “For us, it’s a wash.”
257 left out of funding plan
