One Cent Will Save Public Education

[proud2BlibKansan]

On March 16, a crowd estimated to be 1,000 parents, teachers and students rallied at the east steps of Capitol in Topeka to protest potential future cuts in education funding. Demanding that schools get "what's right, not what's left," and "SOS - save our schools," the crowd's chants echoed in down the halls of the Capitol.

Following the Montoy lawsuit in 2005, funding levels substantially improved educational results and programs across the state. Kansas children were learning more, were achieving high academic standards and graduating from high school ready to contribute to our state.

Still the funding never reached the levels ascribed in the Kansas Legislature's own cost study (2001 Augenblick and Myers). This study found that funding needed for Kansas schools - now nine years ago - ranged from $5,811 per pupil (large districts) to $8,541 per pupil (small districts); with additional costs for: special education: $7,400-$12,000 per pupil; at-risk: $1,900-$2,600 per pupil; English Language Learner (ELL): $1,200 to $6,000 per pupil. In order to be a "Successful School," the average base cost of $4,547 per pupil was proposed.

With the cuts Gov. Parkinson had to put in place when the legislature failed to adequately address the economic crisis in 2009, schools are now at funding levels prior to the 2005 Supreme Court's intervention. In fact they have been pushed back to 1996 levels. If that wasn't bad enough, the schools are serving over 11,000 additional students, and the conservatives in the legislature show no sign of doing what is right for Kansas children.

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