KCK schools won’t get extra $400,000 from Kansas after all

Predicted enrollment increases didn’t materialize this fall, so the Kansas City, Kan., school district won’t get the $400,000 in extra state aid initially approved by a state panel in August.

That was the decision Monday at a meeting of the State Finance Council, which is made up legislators and Gov. Sam Brownback.

The district projected an increase of 507 students, but the actual increase was 24, said Shawn Sullivan, state budget director.

David Smith, spokesman for the Kansas City, Kan., district, said the district wasn’t surprised because it knew its actual enrollment had come in below estimates.

The district disagrees with how its enrollment was counted, Smith said, but acknowledges the number is well below the 2 percent enrollment increase required to receive extra funds.

That threshold, which would equate to 400 students for the KCK district, is too high, Smith said.

“We weren’t happy with the process,” Smith said. “But it is what it is. We have additional kids, and we will find a way to serve them. That’s what educators always do.”

The state’s “extraordinary need” process weighs such things as enrollment increases and property value changes in deciding whether to grant more funds for the school year. Only enrollment increases above 2 percent were awarded additional funds.

It was a mixed bag for other area districts. Spring Hill had its award dropped from about $429,000 to $317,000 and Basehor-Linwood was lowered from about $193,000 to $135,000. Piper’s allocation increased from about $88,000 to $120,000.

In a matter put off at its August meeting, the panel awarded about $367,000 in extra funds for the Wichita school district, which is dealing with additional students and expenses from refugee resettlement.

That money will help pay for special teachers and counselors for 92 students coming from such countries as Myanmar, Somalia and Ethiopia.

In all, the finance council approved extraordinary need funds of $4.2 million to 27 school districts.

About $400,000 went to districts that experienced enrollment increases and nearly $3 million to districts that suffered reductions in oil and gas-related property valuations. Other districts received funds for oil and gas settlements.

“This process provides school districts with the opportunity to request funds to address extraordinary, unexpected changes that affect their ability to serve their students,” Brownback said in a news release statement after the meeting. “We continue to see that remnants of the old formula create financial challenges for some of our districts.”

The state created the extraordinary need process when the Legislature switched to a block-grant state aid formula for public schools, replacing the previous per-pupil formula. Block grants were established for two years until a new formula could be written.

So far this year, about $9.4 million has been distributed in extraordinary need money. About $2.9 million remains in the fund.

This story was originally published November 9, 2015 at 12:17 PM with the headline "KCK schools won’t get extra $400,000 from Kansas after all."