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Kansas school system

The Kansas public school system (prekindergarten-grade 12) operates within districts governed by locally elected school boards members and superintendents. Kansas has 307 school districts.

The Kansas state constitution requires that the state legislature provide for "intellectual, educational, vocational and scientific improvement by establishing and maintaining public schools, educational institutions."[1]

Kansas has 16.5 education employees per 100 students in 2007, this is one of the ten highest ratios in the nation.[2]

School revenues, expenditures and budget

See also: Kansas state budget
Kansas' education costs are 52.3% of the state budget

The total state budget for FY 2010 was $13.05 billion, as compared to a $13.96 billion budget for FY 2009.[3] For education, the governor recommended $6.1 billion for FY 2009 and $5.9 billion in FY 2010. Education in the state of Kansas is partially funded by the State General Fund (67.6 percent). The remaining 32.4 percent is funded by other funds.[4] In FY 2010, elementary and secondary education accounted for 52.3%, higher education for 12.6% and other education agencies for 0.2% of the state general fund.[5]

The cost per pupil is $9,667, ranking 27th in the nation according the Census Bureau 2007-2008 report.[6]

FY 2010 budget shortfall

Deputy Commissioner of the KDOE Dale Dennis said Kansas school districts had a shortfall of about $100 million for the 2010 fiscal year.[7] However, across the state school districts had $175.7 million in their contingency reserve funds at the beginning of fiscal year 2010. Dennis said those taxpayers’ dollars can be used to cover the shortfall, but once districts spend that money it’s gone. Going into FY 2010, school districts had a total of $1.5 billion in unencumbered cash, $128 million more than the $1.36 billion they had going into 2009. If one subtracts balances in funds set aside for capital outlay and debt service, districts still had $699 million in unencumbered operating funds going into 2010. This is a 53 percent increase over the previous year. Dennis said the balances grew because districts anticipated further legislative cuts.[7] “That’s responsible governing by their school boards,” said Rep. Jason Watkins (R-Wichita), vice chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. The committee asked districts during the 2009 Legislative session to do everything they could to build up their contingency reserve funds, Watkins said to Kansas Watchdog.

School for Fair Funding have filed suit agains the state, saying the reduction in district budgets violates the state's constitution, which says the state is obligated to provide a "suitable" education.[8]

Personnel salaries

According to the Kansas Department of Education, in the 2007-2008 school year the average annual teacher salary was $50,969 and the average principal salary was $80,882.[9]

School Year Average principal salary Average teacher salary
2002-03 $67,924 $36,085
2003-04 $69,864 $43,463
2004-05 $71,645 $44,421
2005-06 $74,775 $47,050
2006-07 $77,927 $49,252
2007-08 $80,882 $50,969

Role of unions

The main unions related to the Kansas school system are the Kansas National Education Association (KNEA), an affiliate of the National Education Association (NEA), and the Kansas Associate of Public Employees (KAPE), an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers. For the 2004 tax period KNEA had: $7.49 million in total revenue, $7.34 million in total expenses and $5.62 million in total assets.[10]

List of local Kansas school unions:[11]

Role of school boards

The State Board of Education is composed of ten members. According to the state constitution, electors of each member district elect one person from the district as a member of the board of education. The state board of education, however, appoints a commissioner of education. The commissioner serves as the executive officer of the board.[12] According to the Kansas Board of Education, the board's mission is to "ensure that all students meet or exceed high academic standards and are prepared for their next steps."[13]

Taxpayer-funded lobbying

See also: Kansas government sector lobbying

The main education government sector lobbying organizations are the Kansas Association of School Boards and the Kansas Association of Community College Trustees.

Transparency

See also: Kansas transparency headlines

KanView is the name of Kansas's publicly available online spending database. As a result of the Kansas Legislative House Committee on Government Efficiency and Technology, the legislature and governor passed legislation in 2007 and 2008 that mandates greater financial transparency for Kansas state government.[14] KanView provides a searchable database of state financial information, organized by expenditures and revenues for the five categories of Agency, Fund, Program, Object and Vendor. Annual expenditures and revenues are updated soon after the close of Kansas's fiscal year, which runs from July 1 to June 30.[15]

KansasOpenGov.org has also began to disclose information on school districts. The website is disclosing spending data that includes checkbooks, employment agreements, and payroll listings for USD233 Olathe, USD512 Shawnee Mission, USD253 Emporia, USD308 Hutchinson and USD457 Garden City.[16]

Academic performance

According to the Kansas Department of Education, in the 2008 school year approximately 85.8 percent of students met Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) Reading requirements and 89.5 percent met Math requirements. AYP is used by the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) program to determine the academic performance of schools. According to reports, a total of 350 schools have met AYP since 2003.[17]

School Year Reading (% prof. & above) Math (% prof. & above)
2003-04[18] 70.5% 65.3%
2004-05[19] 73.7% 68.6%
2005-06[20] 80.3% 74.7%
2006-07[21] 81.0% 78.3%
2007-08[22] 84.3% 82.0%
2008-09[17] 85.8% 89.5%

State Budget Solutions’ Education Study: “Throwing Money At Education Isn’t Working”

State Budget Solutions’ examined national trends in education from 2009-2011, including state-by-state analysis of education spending, graduation rates, and average ACT scores. The study shows that states that spend the most do not have the highest average ACT test scores, nor do they have the highest average graduation rates. A summary of the study is available here. Download the full report here: Throwing Money At Education Isn’t Working.

See National Chart to compare data from all 50 states.

State Spending on Education vs. Academic Performance 2012

State 2011 Total Spending[23] 2011 Education Spending[24] 2011 Percent Education Spending 2012 Total Spending[25] 2012 Education Spending[26] 2012 Percent Education Spending 2010 Avg. ACT score[27] 2011 Avg. ACT score[28] 2012 Avg. ACT score[29] 2010 Graduation Rate[30] 2011 Graduation Rate[31]
Kansas $25.7 billion $8.3 billion 32.2% $25.6 billion $8.3 billion 32.4% 22.0 22.0 21.9 78.9% 79.0%

School choice

School choice options include:

  • Charter schools: According to the Department of Education, there were approximately 35 charter schools in Kansas in the 2009-2010 school year.[32] Charter schools are independent public schools that operate within Kansas school districts and are "open to all students." All charter schools are subject to the state's board of education.[33]
  • Public school open enrollment: the state of Kansas has one open enrollment policy: inter-district. In other words, students are permitted to enroll in any school in any alternative district in the state.[34]
  • Online learning: The state of Kansas does not offer a state-led online program. However, school districts across the state offer online courses. According to reports, online programs sever anywhere from 100 to 500 students in grades K-12. [35]

External links

References

  1. ↑ Kansas Constitution,"Article 6, Section 1," retrieved February 27, 2010
  2. ↑ Kansas Watchdog, Kansas Among Highest in Education Jobs Per K-12 Student, Oct. 15, 2010
  3. ↑ Kansas State Budget,"The Governor's Budget Report," retrieved February 27, 2010 (Page 107)
  4. ↑ Kansas State Budget,"FY 2010 State Budget," retrieved March 10, 2010
  5. ↑ Kansas State Budget,"The Governor's Budget Report," retrieved February 27, 2010 (Page 13)
  6. ↑ Maine Watchdog, Education Spending Per Child, July 6, 2010
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Districts Have Funds To Meet Projected $100 Million Shortfall, Kansas Watchdog, November 6, 2009
  8. ↑ Kansas Watchdog, Schools for Fair Funding Files New Funding Suit, Nov. 2, 2010
  9. ↑ Kansas Department of Education,"School Finance Publications," retrieved March 10, 2010
  10. ↑ Center for Union Facts,"Kansas National Education Association," retrieved February 23, 2010
  11. ↑ Center for Union Facts,"Kansas teachers unions," retrieved February 23, 2010
  12. ↑ Kansas Constitution,"Article 6, Section 3 and 4," retrieved February 27, 2010
  13. ↑ Kansas Department of Education,"The Mission of the Kansas State Board of Education," retrieved February 27, 2010
  14. ↑ "What is KanView," Kansas Department of Administration
  15. ↑ "What is KanView," Kansas Department of Administration
  16. ↑ Kansas Watchdog, New Data on School Spending Available Online, Jan. 9, 2011
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Kansas Department of Education,"AYP Report Card 2008-2009," retrieved March 11, 2010
  18. ↑ Kansas Department of Education,"AYP Report Card 2003-2004," retrieved March 11, 2010
  19. ↑ Kansas Department of Education,"AYP Report Card 2004-2005," retrieved March 11, 2010
  20. ↑ Kansas Department of Education,"AYP Report Card 2005-2006," retrieved March 11, 2010
  21. ↑ Kansas Department of Education,"AYP Report Card 2006-2007," retrieved March 11, 2010
  22. ↑ Kansas Department of Education,"AYP Report Card 2007-2008," retrieved March 11, 2010
  23. ↑ USGovernmentSpending.com "Alabama Government Spending Chart - Total Spending" Aug. 4, 2012
  24. ↑ http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/spending_chart_1997_2017ALb_13s1li111mcn_20t USGovernmentSpending.com "Alabama Government Spending Chart - Education Spending"Aug. 4, 2012
  25. ↑ USGovernmentSpending.com "Alabama Government Spending Chart - Total Spending" Aug. 4, 2012
  26. ↑ http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/spending_chart_1997_2017ALb_13s1li111mcn_20t USGovernmentSpending.com "Alabama Government Spending Chart - Education Spending"Aug. 4, 2012
  27. ↑ 2010 ACT National and State Scores "Average Scores by State"
  28. ↑ [http://www.act.org/newsroom/data/2011/states.html 2011 ACT National and State Scores " Average Scores by State"]
  29. ↑ [http://www.act.org/newsroom/data/2011/states.html 2011 ACT National and State Scores " Average Scores by State"]
  30. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics
  31. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics
  32. ↑ Kansas Department of Education,"Charter Schools 2009-2010," retrieved February 27, 2010
  33. ↑ Kansas Department of Education,"Charter Schools," retrieved February 27, 2010
  34. ↑ Education Commission of the States,"Open Enrollment: 50-State Report," retrieved February 27, 2010
  35. ↑ The Heritage Foundation,"School Choice in Kansas," retrieved February 27, 2010
Kansas school system
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