We want what we want when we want it. That’s human nature. In the case of state government, when revenues are up its easy to forget how far we’ve come
Our troubles began with the Great Recession and were exacerbated by the tax cuts of 2012 & 2013. For our public schools, the trouble was further compounded by the repeal of the funding formula. Frozen funding under the Block Grant still impacting the system today.
To cope, most districts spent into reserve funds to shield students from the deepest harm. Even now, certain elements of our new formula base calculations on a “three prior year” rolling average which will smooth budgets in the long run but hurt at the moment.
Most important to remember, although the court accepted the #ksleg plan, we will NOT reach constitutional levels of funding until 2023. Funding is being gradually phased in over a five year period.
Our schools are working to recover, working to reinvent themselves to meet new standards. When evaluating how they are doing, remember any employees who aren’t licensed teachers are counted as “administration”
New counselors? Administration. New social workers? Administration. Diversiry & Inclusion Director? Administration. Be careful of the statistics you rely on as they can deceive.
Smaller class sizes & more planning time = more hiring. We want this. We need this. We maybe can’t have this all at once.
Stay engaged, keep holding #ksleg accountable for the funding plan submitted to the court, stay tuned in to the decisions of your local school board. Please remember though, we didn’t get here overnight and we won’t recover overnight.
