3.1.10 Kansas Policy Institute E-newsletter

3.1.10

School spending study finds $717 million in potential savings

A new study on K-12 spending in Kansas concludes that schools statewide are spending as much as $717 million more than is necessary, and that implementing the 'best practices' of more efficient districts could eliminate the need to raise taxes or cut spending on other essential services.

"Volume 3: Analysis of K-12 Spending in Kansas" of A Kansas Primer on Education Funding also finds that, despite district claims that they are underfunded, most districts haven't spent all of the money they received in past years. A preliminary version of this study was released in January based on 2007-08 spending; the study has been updated with newly-released data from the 2008-09 school year. Read More>>

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Commentary

The 'right' time to raise taxes

By Dave Trabert

I recently had the privilege of debating the role of government spending in the economy with Kansas Transportation Secretary Deb Miller. One exchange concerned a report issued by the Department of Revenue that says state tax exemptions have allegedly cost government billions of dollars in lost revenue over the last few years.

The DOR report has a lot of numbers but is completely devoid of context, so I tried to shed some light on the circumstances behind the changes. Most of the exemptions on the DOR list (see "Kansas Tax Cuts Through FY 2013" in the Data Warehouse on our web site) were implemented in the mid-90s when state revenues were growing rapidly. In fact, State General Fund revenues increased 107% between 1987 and 1997. That's much faster growth that was needed to sustain necessary government spending so the legislature responsibly granted some tax breaks. The beneficiaries were mostly those who probably needed it the most, as evidenced by some of the largest amounts on the DOR report (through FY 2009): car tax reductions, single income rate reductions, earned income tax credit, food sales tax rebate and increasing the personal exemption. Read More>>

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Kansas Policy Institute's Dave Trabert debates government spending with Kansas Secretary of Transportation Deb Miller

Video courtesy of Rebecca Zepick and State of the State KS

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School funding changes urged to meet changing labor market

By Gene Meyer, February 25, 2010 (CST)

Shifting some state aid to savings accounts would help provide needed career technical money, advocates say. Read More>>

Simpler tax plan draws lawmakers' support

By Gene Meyer, February 25, 2010 (CST)

Plan would limit tax changes when property values change. Opponents say process would complicate local budgeting.

Blog & Analysis Homeland Security Loses Over 1,000 Computers in One Fiscal Year

By Paul Soutar on February 24, 2010

Todd Shepherd of Colorado's Independence Institute has discovered that Homeland Security is missing some hardware. New documents reveal that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) continues to lose hundreds of computers per year. At least one DHS component agency maintains that the losses fall within accepted accounting standards. In fiscal year 2008, inventories of lost, stolen, and [...] Read More>>

Hundreds Attend Wichita's Winter Rally Saturday

By Paul Soutar on February 23, 2010

Hundreds of concerned citizens attended Winter Rally 2010 inside Wichita's Century II Exhibition Hall Saturday, Feb. 20, 2010. They had the opportunity to talk to and hear speeches from Representatives Todd Tiahrt and Jerry Moran, candidates for U.S. Senate. Several candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives also attended and participated in a debate. Grassroots [...] Read More>>

Smoking Ban Advocate Says Some Claims Just Smoke

3.1.2010 enews wd uncorrected smoking ban

By Paul Soutar on February 20, 2010

Opponents to a statewide total smoking ban say anti-tobacco advocates are playing a little loose with their facts. They have an unlikely ally in Michael Siegel, a medical doctor and professor of community health sciences at Boston University's School of Public Health. He's a long-standing anti-tobacco advocate, a proponent of smoking bans and a strong critic [...] Read More>>

Schools for Fair Funding Proceeds with Lawsuit; Permits No-notice Meetings

By Paul Soutar on February 19, 2010

NEWTON - Schools for Fair Funding (SFFF) voted today to proceed with a lawsuit seeking an increase in state education funding. Today's meeting was the first since the Kansas Supreme Court's rejection last week of the group's petition to reopen the Montoy case mandating increased funding for K-12 public education. The group also made several changes [...] Read More>>

Summary of Kansas Senate Campaign Accounts

By Earl Glynn on February 24, 2010

Kansas Senators filed Campaign Finance Reports with the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission in January. Comparing the amounts of money raised, money spent, money in the bank, and any loans, among the 40 senators requires opening 40 different PDF files and recording 4 numbers. It's almost like the system was designed to make such comparisons quite difficult. Shown below are [...] Read More>>

Kansas Senate Bill would allow transfer of campaign funds

By Earl Glynn on February 22, 2010

Last week the Kansas Senate passed SB 423 allowing the transfer of campaign funds to a "successor committee or candidacy. " If passed by the House and signed by the governor, this bill allows a candidate to transfer unspent campaign funds from one campaign to another, e.g., from a State Senate campaign to an Attorney General's campaign by the same [...] Read More>>

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