On Friday night, in the Kansas capitol building, a deal was struck that would keep Kansas schools open through the upcoming year. The deal reached, thanks to pushing by Democrats and Moderate Republicans, rejected conservative pushes to flip the bird at the state supreme court and go home.
Earlier in the day, a vote to move forward on a constitutional amendment to strip powers away from the Supreme Court failed by 1 vote — much to the dismay of the governor and conservatives.
By the end of the day, though, Kansas had a bill that would pass nearly unanimously 38-1 in the senate, with only 6 dissenting votes in the house.
The crafted legislation, which may be the best that Kansas could expect, is still a symbol of exactly what is wrong in the statehouse:
Initially, the bill would have cut general state aid to all districts by 0.5 percent. But enough lawmakers objected that the cut was removed. Now, lawmakers hope that proceeds from the sale of assets of the Kansas Bioscience Authority can cover that portion of the funding.
The plan also cuts $2.8 million in funding for virtual schools and $7.3 million from a fund created to help districts pay for unexpected and extraordinary needs. It sweeps $4.1 million in welfare funds and takes $10.5 million from the state’s tobacco settlement money.
The financing scheme is not ideal and would not have been necessary if the state had an adequate ending balance. But tax cuts championed by Gov. Sam Brownback have drained the state’s cash reserves.
The state’s plan, to enact a fire sale of assets in the form of the Bioscience Authority, will help solve the problem facing the state today, but offers little guidance for the state going forward.
As the plan came to a close, conservative Republican leadership lapped the house informing reporters and others who would listen that this was a “Republican plan”, highlighting that it accomplished a key Republican goal: they had cut waste out of the budget by eliminating the Bioscience authority, a talking point they could use on the campaign trail.
The fire sale of the Kansas Bioscience Authority will most certainly help assist keeping the doors of schools open this year, but it simply is not a budget plan going forward. If you sell your television to make your electric payment, you still have another electric bill coming next month.
Kansas problems, reflected in budget and taxes, were highlighted again this week:
www.kmbc.com/...
TOPEKA, Kan. —Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback and legislative leaders have authorized a record $900 million in temporary borrowing to cover the state's expenses through June 2017.
With ongoing budget concerns, there simply are not enough assets to liquidate and jobs to eliminate to make up the total shortfall.
The legislators this week worked for the good of their state, with probably the best solution available to them, and they deserve credit for avoiding an immediate crisis.
That crisis, however, has not been resolved, only delayed. With an adequacy ruling still pending, and the state still failing to meet revenue targets, it seems unlikely fire sales will keep the state operating forever.
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