USD 234 budget stable for time being

Public schools all across the state have seen recent budget cuts as Gov. Mark Parkinson and the Kansas Legislature try to fix a $400 million deficit in the state budget. USD 234, which operates on about a $12 million general fund budget, is no exception. Estimated numbers show a loss of about $1.1 million in state funding from the 2008-09 school year through the 2010-11 school year due to no enrollment increases and a reduction in state aid to $4,012 per pupil.

Despite this fact, the district's finances are in order through the rest of the current school year, USD 234 Business Manager Alan Drake said.

"For the next couple of months, our expenses and payrolls are covered," Drake said. "We're OK."

Drake said that hopefully state lawmakers will pass a recent proposal by Parkinson to increase the state's sales tax to 6.3 percent from 5.3 percent for three years, which will be crucial in controlling future cuts in education funding and could possibly lead to more funding for Kansas public schools.

"The tax increase is critical to schools statewide," Drake said. "More cuts would be pretty devastating to us. If not, (tax increase) we hope they (legislators) carefully consider revenue from some source."

If the tax increase does not go through, state aid per student could drop again nearly $300, and schools are already possibly facing more budget cuts in the near future, Drake said.

"We're not over that hurdle yet," he said. "There could be future cuts that affect this year."

USD 234 has thus far avoided staff reductions due to the budget cuts, but some expenses have been trimmed or cut to save money. Some areas where the district has cut back include purchasing, equipment, funding for trips, transportation and energy. The district has also postponed textbook purchases this year, Drake said.

Another possible option to save on costs would be to implement a shorter school week, but that is a measure the district would put in place only after careful consideration by school officials on whether or not it would impact academics, Drake said.

"It's a possibility, but there would have to be a lot of board review and research and we'd have to see how it affects students," he said.

Total reductions in general state aid to public school districts is estimated to be $241 million compared to 2009 levels, according to the Kansas Department of Education.

Drake said USD 234 is not part of the Schools for Fair Funding coalition, a group that is trying to get the Kansas Supreme Court to reopen a 1999 lawsuit over state funding for education, and that the USD 234 Board of Education has not discussed the matter.

Reporter's note: A story concerning how recent education funding cuts have affected USD 235 in Uniontown will appear in a future edition of the Tribune.