Millions of Americans have student loans, and President Biden is proposing to forgive up to $20,000 of debt per borrower. (Getty Images)
TOPEKA (KSNT) – Kansas lawmakers have reached an agreement on education funding. The conference committee finalized the plan early Saturday morning.
Nexstar's Kansas State Legislature Bureau met with public education advocates after the meeting.
Leah Fritter, spokeswoman for the Kansas School Boards Association, said the bill is a compromise. Lawmakers agreed to put more money into special education, as proposed by the governor. Mr Fritter said the proposal would be as follows:
“The conference committee reached agreement on a plan to provide $75 million in state aid to special education students across Kansas,” Fritter said. “It also funds approximately $528 million in the base budget for Kansas public schools.”
However, Fritter acknowledged that there are parts of the relationship that both sides are “not crazy about.”
“While there are compromises in this bill…we agreed to a compromise in the best interest of public schools,” she said.
“Part of the bill says school districts would have to pay for a portion of the local taxes attributable to special education that they are waiting to receive in the school finance formula; There is a mandate to devolve' into the special education fund and spend it on special education…We would have liked it to be less of a mandate…and local control. But in exchange… Congress agreed not to count local taxes as part of her $75 million. Therefore, her $75 million in special education aid will come solely from the state Legislature…and the state Legislature will not perform any computational manipulations of what we used to call accounting 'tricks.' she explained.
The proposal also includes funding to help at-risk students, said Kansas United Schools Administrator Jim Karlskind.
“At-risk pilots are also participating… We're going to work with 10 school districts across the state… to help at-risk kids,” Karlskind said.
This plan will be included in the House of Representatives' latest Conference Committee Report (CCR) on SB 387.
Lawmakers are expected to take up the bill when they return in the last week of April. Lawmakers are scheduled to return on April 25th.
Click here for the latest billing updates.
