Prior to 2006, the state of Kansas had a budget surplus that neared $1 billion. For the 2010 fiscal year, which ends on June 30, the state is projected to have a deficit in excess of $300 million. Along with this failure to raise revenues, the legislature has failed to increase educational funding. Instead,  the Appropriations Committee has made significant cuts to combat an ever-increasing debt. The school board is not to blame for the budget cuts; the state is.

   On March 8 and 9, the Lawrence School Board had to cope with a $5 million budget cut. Several programs were under discussion for cuts and the possibility of school closures was increasing by the day. The teacher-student ratios were increased and a reorganization of nurses will occur. Fortunately, no schools have been closed and sixth grade band was saved … for now. A new round of cuts has been proposed in the form of two bills. 

   The Republican party introduced HB 2600 and HB 2739 into the Kansas House of Representatives via the Appropriations Committee. These bills will deal with funding in the annual

education budget.

   The objective of HB 2600 is to reorganize special education funding. By revamping the distribution of this funding based on the needs of an individual district, the funding for LHS itself could potentially be reduced.

   HB 2739 is a Republican-sponsored plan to slice the public education budget by an additional $178 million. This would, in turn, force USD497 to cut its budget for 2010-2011 by an additional $1.68 million. Sixth grade band may not survive the cut again if this proposal is voted through

the legislature.

This is not the first time that school funding has been a state-wide issue. On June 28, 2006, the Kansas Supreme Court determined that the legislature’s actions did not have to comply with earlier decisions, but left a door for appeal on education funding itself wide open. A lawsuit has been filed by southern Kansas school districts in an effort to secure more funding for next year.

   Though financial pitfalls have ravaged the state, the legislature needs to come under fire for an increasingly unbalanced budget. Their spending increased by 48 percent from 2004 to 2008, according to KanView, a state-run web site established in 2006 to provide government budget transparency.

   The budget needs to be balanced, but not at the expense of education.

   The government could reduce tax exemptions and introduce new taxes to balance the budget. These tax increases could be sales taxes, soda taxes or income taxes. Government is shirking its responsibilities and is not responding to the needs of its people. We should not compromise our future for open checkbooks in the present day. 

   Kansas is running itself into the ground. The students in Kansas are being exploited. Worst of all, the sponsors of the cuts are elected officials who are supposed to represent their constituents.  Students need to show the legislature the magnitude of their mistake by lobbying them directly.