NEWS 06 02-07-11
MORE CUTS TO COME AnnieSgroi
This school year has been full of reductions at East. Four teaching positions, 10 percent of the supply budget, 25 percent of the library budget, and some administrative and paraprofessional work hours—all these things have been lost due to budget cuts, but there are still more cuts to come. On Jan. 13, Governor Sam Brownback presented his budget plan for Kansas schools. In his State of the State Address, Brownback stated that education was his second priority, after economic recovery. Despite Brownback’s focus on education, he acknowledged in the address that funds will be tight in the coming years, and cuts will be required. His proposal will bring cuts of the base state aid per pupil (BSAPP) by $75 this year and $157 for the 2011-2012 school year or fiscal year (FY) 2012. BSAPP is a set amount of funding allotted by legislators each year for each full-time student in Kansas. According to the Kansas Department of Education, Kansas’s BSAPP increased a small amount in the middle of the decade, but in the past two years has been reduced due to economic stress in the state. This year Kansas faces a $50 million, deficit and legislators have been forced to make cuts in most state departments. The Shawnee Mission School District calculates that this proposal would result a state funds cut of $2.6 million for this year and $5.7 million for 2011-2012. In addition, the district will have a cut of $4.5 million in federal funds in the 20112012 school year. Principal Karl Krawitz was not surprised by the cuts stated in the Governor’s proposal, given the financial situation of the state. Dr. Krawitz explained that since education funding makes up 51 percent of the state’s budget, it is only logical that cuts would be made in education. Still, Dr. Krawitz is concerned about the changes these cuts may bring to East in the 2011-2012 school year, as well as the following year. In the upcoming school year, Dr. Krawitz predicts that East will lose more teachers and as a result of those losses have to increase core class sizes to 33 to 35 students. He said that the increase in class size will clearly be hard for students,
Both a proposal from Governor Brownback’s and a bill from the Kansas House of Representatives’ propose budget cuts in education
but it will also be a challenge for teachers—bigger classes will mean more grading, and less time to devote to each student. “I don’t think that anybody can realistically think they’re going to grade the 150th paper in a class the same way they graded the first paper,” Dr. Krawitz said. For 2012-2013, Dr. Krawitz foresees core class sizes at East rising to between 38 to 40 students on average. He explained that with the additional reduction of $157 BSAPP, even bigger changes will have to be made across the state. Although he doesn’t have specific programs in mind, Dr. Krawitz worries that the budget situation may be dire enough to cut funds from some programs. “The district has cut what people might say is taking a piece of meat and cutting off the excess fat and making it leaner,” Dr. Krawitz said. “ In 2012 and 2013, there will not be any fat to cut, so then we’re cutting into the heart of what is truly the school district’s tradition of excellence.” On Jan. 31, the Appropriations Committee of Kansas House of Representatives proposed additional cuts to programs in the Kansas Department of Education in House Bill 2014. Pre-K Now and Parents as Teachers (PaT) face reductions in HB 2014. Pre-K Now is a state-funded program designed to provide early childhood education for low-income children. Albert Wat, National Project Manager of Pre-K Now has studied the cuts facing the program in Kansas. “High-quality pre-k can’t be considered a luxury reserved for upper income families or a public-assistance program for the disadvantaged,” Wat said. “Based on what we now know about children’s brain development during the crucial early years, pre-k is just as necessary as kindergarten or first grade.” Parents as Teachers is an organization funded by the state that works with school districts to set up programs to get parents actively involved in their children’s early education. With these cuts, Kansas PaT will likely have to close programs, as was the case in Missouri, when their funding was cut earlier this year. The state’s budget for the next two upcoming fiscal years
has yet to be finalized, but educators are operating under the assumption that the Governor’s proposals will be carried through. Though Dr. Krawitz believes East students and staff will try to support each other through the possible changes, he is worried for the future. “For staff there’ll be this rush of the challenge, the adrenaline—that says we’re not going to fall to this pressure and we’re going to maintain the quality and standards,” Dr. Krawitz said. “They’ll feel like they can pull it off, but the reality is that we’re only human . . .Unless we have that motivation internally to handle that stress, it could be very difficult.”
HOW TO SPEAK STATE BUDGET BASE STATE AID PER PUPIL(BSAPP)
BSAPP is a set amount of funding allotted by legislators each year for each full-time student in Kansas. BSAPP is multiplied by Adjustment Enrollment to calculate State FInancial Aid to schoools.
ADJUSTED ENROLLMENT
This is the number of full-time students in a schooldistrict with “weights” taken into account. “Weights” are factors such as vocational education, bilingual students, or students achieving below their grade level, that can adjust the resources needed.
FISCAL YEAR (FY)
The measure of a financial year for any organization, like a government or business, that operates on a yearlyadjusted budget—it can be different from a calendar year.
To read House Bill 2014 and other proposals for the upcoming year visit www.kslegislature.org
PIECES OF THE PROPOSED CUTS Base Student Aid Per Pupil (BSAPP) (in dollars)
A breakdown of the proposed cuts in the state’s education budget Parent Education Program of the Children’s Initiative Fund [ $7,539,500 to $7,356,130 ]
Changes in Kansas Base Student Aid Per Pupil (BSAPP)
5,000
4,257 4,000
3,863
4,400
4,316
3,863
Pre-K Now Program of the Children’s Initiative Fund [ $5,000,000 to $4,880,370]
3,780 3,623
3,000
‘00-‘01 ‘01-‘02 ‘02-‘03 ‘03-‘04 ‘04-‘05 ‘05-‘06 ‘06-‘07 ‘07-‘08 ‘08-‘09 ‘09-‘10 ‘10-‘11 ‘11-‘12* ‘12-‘13*
KS Dept. of Education
School Year
children. The Parent Education Program is the formal name for Parents as Teachers— which helps parents become involved with their children’s early education.
4,012 4,012
3,863
3,870 3,820
4,374
The Children’s Initiative Fund (CIF) is run by the The Kansas Children’s Cabinet, was formed in 1999, by the KS Legislature to start and evaluate programs that benefit
*proposed funds
Pre-K Now is a program established by CIF to provide at-risk four-year-olds with early childhood education. It is a half-day program run by private non-profits and school districts. Children are chosen
based on risk factors like being an English language-learner, being eligible for free-lunch, coming from a single or teen parent home, having developmental problems or having poorly educated parents.