By KARI BLURTON
Hays Post

Officials from the Kansas Association of School Boards were in Hays Wednesday morning — the first stop on a  statewide summer advocacy tour — to discuss the year’s tumultuous legislative session with school administrators and district leaders.

Of particular concern was the passage of  HB2056 addressing school funding.

According to KASB Associate Executive Director Mark Tallman, the bill provided funds for some schools and added local options for school boards to make up for lost funding, through passage of a local option budget election.

“The reality is in Kansas — really since 2009 — our (education) funding per student has not even kept up with inflation,” he said, “and when you look at the operating sides of things, which is part of what the local option budget is about, we have fallen far behind the rate of inflation over the last five years.

“So we have been expecting schools to do more — get more kids ready for careers, ready for college and making sure they graduate — and our funds have really been restricted,” Tallman said.

Reductions in education funding is partly due to legislative “choices” and partly due to state tax policy,” he added.

“We are in a situation now where if the local communities are not willing to put in those dollars then the districts — Hays and others — are going to have to start making very difficult choices on how to respond,” Tallman said. “The problem is simply that if we are not making sure our state funding is at least keeping up with with costs,  and we are not able to supplement that with local funding, then we are going to have to make significant changes in how we operate our schools.”

Tallman said if the LOB election does not pass in cities like Hays, residents can expect to see more cuts to teaching staff, larger classroom sizes and cuts to programs.

“Part of our conversation (throughout the state)… is do we think where we are at is good enough? I think the view of our association is what we generally hear…it is not good enough,” said Tallman. “It is very important that people see education as an investment in the future of their students and the future of their community.”

Hays residents will be mailed ballots on June 10, with the district seeking to increase the LOB from 30 percent to 31 percent.

The USD 489 Board of Education recently voted to raise enrollment fees and cut transportation routes to make up for lost funds in a budget already facing a $1 million-plus shortfall for 2014-15. In addition, 16 teachers were given notice this spring their contracts would not be renewed for the upcoming school year.

If the LOB election passes, $200,000 would be raised for the district, and homeowners would pay $2.30 a year on a $100,000 house.

However, if the LOB is passed, the board does have the right to raise the LOB to 32 percent or 33 percent for one year, after which the LOB would revert to 31 percent.

If the LOB were raised to 32 percent, homeowners would pay around $5.65 a month for one year and $11.12 a month at 33 percent for one year (estimated on a $100,000 house.)

Superintendent Dean Katt and USD 489 school board members have said their “No. 1 priority” if the LOB is passed is to bring back elementary teachers whose contracts were not renewed for the 2014-15 school years.

Tallman said he and other members of the KASB will be visiting 23 communities across the state throughout the month of June to discuss the latest legislative session and it’s effect on educational funding for Kansas schools.

For more information on the annual summer advocacy tour, visit the KASB website.