Poorer school districts, such as those in Allen County, could be in for tougher financial times. KOEHN’S POLITICAL commentary was interspersed in a presentation about the mechanics of USD 257’s budget. KOEHN NOTED the district’s financial crunch — substantial cuts have been made in recent years — and similar situations for other rural districts come from base state per pupil languishing at $3,838.
Jack Koehn, superintendent of USD 257 schools, told Iola Rotarians Thursday that Ed Bideau, Chanute Republican and Ninth District representative, fears a showdown on how the state dispenses financial aid may occur during the session that will unfold in January.
With urban legislators holding sway, Koehn said the outcome may be a revamped state aid formula unfavorable to rural districts.
As it is now, with the formula passed in 1993, a statewide 20-mill ad valorem tax levy supports state aid to education.
In Johnson County’s Blue Valley district, a levy of 1 mill raises enough money to fund its general fund budget, which means proceeds from the remaining 19 mills goes to other districts throughout the state, on the premise that all Kansas students should receive the same basic education.
Koehn said USD 257’s general fund budget for 2013-14 had predicted expenditures of $9.38 million, of which 91 percent comes from outside the county. Allen County’s mill levy raises $884,058, or 9 percent, of the school district’s budget.
Many patrons of rich urban districts would prefer to have things the way they were before equalization, Koehn said, so they could spend local property proceeds raised within a district in the district.
That would lead to massive tax increases for property owners in poor districts, to meet the state Supreme Court’s ruling that Kansas is obligated to provide a comprehensive and equal education to all Kansas children.
The current crop of legislators seems intent on cutting statewide costs on the backs of students, which led Koehn to encourage Rotarians to contact their representatives in Topeka.
“Your voice is more important than mine,” Koehn said, allowing that he did bend legislators’ ears at every opportunity.
“I’m trying to push advocacy,” he said candidly. “It’s time to get off the sidelines.”
He noted the general fund was “where the rubber meets the road,” containing money for salaries — 80 percent of the $9.38 million — and general operations of schools, including educational materials.
A second source of general operations funding is in the local option budget, a means for local districts to raise additional money. The local district’s is 30 percent of the general fund, or $3.17 million. Its revenue comes from 78 percent in state aid, down from previous years, and the remainder in a 26.379-mill property tax levy.
A levy of 1 mill in the district raises about $52,000.
A third source of local revenue, the capital outlay fund, is supported wholly by a 6-mill local levy, which this year will raise $311,170. The fund contains $800,000 for 2013-14, with that total including money carried forward from the previous year. Money in the fund may be spent for equipment, including buses, and buildings, either repairs or new structures.
“It’s important,” Koehn said of the capital outlay fund. “We have issues with old buildings.”
The district receives another $991,773 in federal funding, with about half going for Title programs, such as remedial reading and math instruction, and the rest for SAFE BASE.
The district’s actual per-pupil aid is much more than that, though, when weighting factors for at-risk students, low enrollment and other factors are taken into consideration. The district’s full-time equivalency enrollment based on head count is 1,270.2, but nearly doubles to 2,444.2 when weighting factors are applied. The higher FTE multiplied by base state aid of $3,838 results in USD 257’s general fund state aid of $9.38 million.
For comparison’s sake, Koehn pointed out that when the equalization formula became law in Kansas in 1993, base per-pupil state aid was $3,603, topped out a few years ago at $4,400 before being reduced and, if the consumer price index were followed annually, would be $5,822 today.
School finances teeter on crisis
