The Skyline Board of Education was handed a bleak financial report by Rep. Mitch Holmes and Sen. Ruth Teichman Monday night as they presented estimated cuts in education funding.
After the Legislative Division of Post Audit revealed the financial situation, Holmes said he was afraid the state was going to take the report and beat legislators over the head with it.
The situation is so bad, the last time this level of calamities happened was the great depression.
“Things really don’t look good,” Holmes said.
Holmes said Skyline is one of the best schools in his district. He is calling for innovation rather than panic.
Teichman agreed that the quality of education in western Kansas is excellent.
But excellence isn’t going to help the legislature find a way to replace $459 million in lost revenues for the 2010 budget.
“It’s going to be a tough session. It’s not a pretty picture. It’s going to be very tough,” Teichman said.
Legislators will have to find funding for not just the schools but all other state supported entities and that could lead to a tax increase but the question is who would get taxed and where does the legislature get the money.
One solution is through economic development.
“What we need is jobs,” Teichman said.
Facing cuts in student base pay by up to $150 per student that would take $60,000 from Skyline and more cuts expected in May or June, the board took the action to fight for funding. Skyline stands to loose some $300,000 in funding if every thing goes as anticipated. By 2012 the cuts could equal $900,000.
“It’s a brutal cut. It’s a crippling cut,” said Skyline Superintendent.
All schools in Kansas are feeling the financial cuts. The Wichita School District could loose up to $100 million in funding.
“This could cripple the system,” Sanders said. “I don’t mean to be gloom and doom but it is gloom and doom. It’s a tsunami that’s coming and it’s going to over take everyone.”
As a show of support for school funding, the board vote to join Schools for Fair Funding and promises to support an effort to reopen the Montoy case or support new litigation against the state to require the legislature to suitably fund its schools according to the mandates of the Kansas Constitution and orders of the Kansas Supreme Court.
Some of the financial situation included unification including the possibility of Skyline/Pratt unification.
Among the reasons Skyline Superintendent Mike Sanders gave against unification are the low dropout rate at Skyline, students are well prepared for college, fewer students would be able to participate in activities and the loss of jobs in the county would reduce state revenues.
Skyline wants to send a message that they want students, especially Sawyer students, which might end up being home schooled if consolidation happens, to have the opportunity to have the small school experience.
But even with the financial problems, the Legislature would probably not force the consolidation issue and leave it up to the districts, Teichman said.
“We want the best education for the students in Kansas,” Teichman said. “I support the school districts. I want them to have the ability to do what is best for them.”
Although the financial situation is not good, the results from the 2008-2009 assessment tests were very good for Skyline, said Skyline Counselor Becca Flowers.
In the district reading assessment, 92 percent scored at or above the state average. The third and eighth grade reading assessment was 94.2 percent earning the building wide standard of excellence.
This year’s seniors also earned the building wide standard of excellence for reading. They also scored building wide standard of excellence in math while the 82.1 percent of the third and eighth grade scored at or above the state average. In writing, the seniors earned standard of excellence while the fourth grade had 75 percent at or above standard while the eighth grade had 82 percent at or above standard.
Pratt, Kan. —
