Friday, the Kansas Policy Institute (KPI) purchased a full-page advertisement in the Iola Register to inform you the total aid per pupil in area school districts had increased, and that school districts began this year with $699 million in reserves. The Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) was cited as the source for this information. While these statements are true, they are certainly not the whole truth.
Information available on the KSDE Web site indicates that statewide, the legal maximum budget for all Kansas school districts declined by more than $180 million this year. In the specific case of USD 257, the loss was $1.1 million. The legal maximum budget is the primary source for daily operations such as instructional supplies, salaries, utilities, fuel, etc.
The total aid per pupil cited by KPI is significantly higher because it includes budget dollars that are limited by law to construction and repairs, food service, grants such as the SAFE-BASE after-school program, and others.
In addition, some of the “total aid” simply passes through school district budgets on the way to other agencies, including the State of Kansas, and is not available for local district use. While all of these are necessary funds, they do nothing to offset the loss in daily operating expenses that occurred this year.
Similar issues apply to the $699 million in budget reserves. Many of these reserve funds are limited to maintenance and repair of facilities, and construction of new facilities in districts where patrons voted to pass a bond issue. Other funds are specifically targeted for unexpected expenditures in areas such as special education, vocational education, food service, etc.
The contingency reserve is one fund specifically intended as a savings account to help with unexpected losses or expenses in the daily operations of the district. In the case of USD 257, this fund represents less than half the loss in our legal maximum budget. We have spent 10 percent of the contingency reserve so far this year and have also used it as cash balance to cover payroll and bills when state aid payments were late; something that has occurred each of the past six months. As state aid continues to decline, we will no doubt need this reserve again next year and perhaps the following year as well.
Again, the figures cited in the Kansas Policy Institute advertisement are accurate, but incomplete. Hopefully, now you know the rest of the story.
S. Craig Neuenswander
Superintendent of Schools, USD 257
Iola, Kan.
