Kan. governor cuts school aid amid budget changes

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By JOHN HANNA

Associated Press Writer

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- Gov. Mark Parkinson imposed another rounds of spending cuts Thursday to keep Kansas' budget balanced, trimming aid to public schools and higher education funding.

A few of the $160 million in adjustments announced by the Democratic governor will require approval from the Republican-controlled Legislature when it reconvenes in January. But most -- including education reductions -- take effect immediately under a state law that allows the governor to make cuts to head off a budget shortfall.

A deficit loomed on the second day of the state's 2010 fiscal year because tax collections for the just-ended fiscal year were $126 million short of expectations. The state already sought to cope by delaying tax refunds and payments to school districts from June into July.

But paying the delayed bills -- and others due in coming weeks -- also will require internal borrowing. Parkinson plans to ask legislative leaders Monday for permission to transfer $700 million from various funds into the state's main bank account to forestall cash crunches in coming months.

He didn't rule out the possibility that the state's revenues will continue to fall below expectations, requiring even more budget cuts -- or even consideration of tax increases next year.

"My hope and my optimism is that our revenue numbers will stabilize," Parkinson said at a news conference. "If the revenue numbers deteriorate further than what we anticipate, everything's on the table."

Aid to public schools was a natural target for additional cuts because it consumes more than half of the state's tax dollars.

Public schools already have lost about $124 million in state dollars. Their base aid has dropped $153 per student, about 3.5 percent, to $4,280. Parkinson's actions Thursday take an additional $39 million away from them.

State universities, community colleges and technical schools will lose an additional $15 million.

Mark Tallman, a lobbyist for the Kansas Association of School Boards, said districts already had anticipated cutting their staffs by about 3,000 in the coming school year. He said summer school programs, coaching staffs and bus routes are especially vulnerable.

He noted that districts still face federal requirements to continue improving students' scores on standardized reading and math tests.

"No one is saying, 'OK, what you're doing is enough,"' he said. "We're still hearing, 'You've got to do even more. You've got to do even better."'

The state started ramping up spending on public schools in 2005 because of Kansas Supreme Court rulings in an education funding lawsuit. The state's backtracking already has inspired talk of new litigation from school districts and parents.

Parkinson's announcement came the same day the federal government announced that the nation's unemployment rate hit a 26-year high in June, at 9.5 percent. The economy has created months of budget problems for states, and several, including California and Illinois, began their new fiscal years without spending plans in place.

Parkinson's new round of cuts are targeted, because some general government agencies already had seen double-digit reductions in their budgets. The state has closed minimum-security prison units and increased court fees, and state universities will increase tuition this fall.

The governor announced that the state also will suspend operations at the Beloit Juvenile Correctional Facility in north-central Kansas on Aug. 28 and trim $30 million from highway maintenance projects.

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On the Net:

Kansas governor: http://www.governor.ks.gov

Kansas Legislature: http://www.kslegislature.org