E-Newsletter
    October 19, 2015     
School spending, state aid set another record
By: David Dorsey, Senior Education Policy Analyst and former Kansas public school teacher
 
Just released information by the Kansas Department of Education reveals education spending in the Sunflower State reached all-time highs in both total and per-pupil expenditures in 2014-15 and will continue in the current year.

In the 2014-15 school year, total spending increased by more than $100 million and topped the $6 billion mark for the first time.  It marked the fourth consecutive year there was an increase in total spending. State aid was at an all-time high, at just under $4 billion, an increase for the fifth consecutive year. For the first time in recent history, the 20 mills of property tax mandated for school funding was properly recorded as state aid rather than local, accounting for about $579 million of the $701 million state aid increase.

Read the full post here...
ICYMI...
what happened at KPI over the past week:

Former Brownback official convinced state tax increases on horizon - Topeka Capital-Journal
A former top budget official for Gov. Sam Brownback predicted state taxes would rise in 2016 due to failure by administration leaders to sufficiently cut spending while shifting income tax rates closer to zero.

KPI Blog - At-risk funding misses target of putting students first
The at-risk program began in Kansas in 1992. Its purpose was "to provide at-risk students with additional educational opportunities and instructional services to assist in closing the achievement gap."

E-News - October 12, 2015
Last week's edition of the weekly newsletter.

The Policy Rundown...
A look at the policy debate in Kansas:

Medicaid mystery: Why is coverage dropping among state's youngest? - Kansas Health Institute

Kansas parents could soon see student scores on Common Core-aligned tests - Wichita Eagle

Brownback quietly exploring shape of Kansas' early-childhood education - Topeka Capital-Journal

State education board members nervous about new accreditation system - Lawrence Journal-World

Kansas Policy Institute
 
250 N. Water, Wichita, Kansas 67202
p:316.634.0218  f:316.440.4806