Governor's support for K-12 Education remains strong

There are many different views on how to handle the 2010 budget deficit.  However, the Governor stays committed to K-12 Education.  Here is an article from the Topeka Capital-Journal on-line.

Gov renews call for tax increases


Parkinson believes most legislators 'reluctantly' agree not much left to trim from budget

By Barbara Hollingsworth
Topeka Capital-Journal
Created March 31, 2010 at 2:38pm
Updated April 1, 2010 at 12:11am

A four-week break at home will give Kansas lawmakers plenty of time to hear from constituents.

They most likely will hear about tax increases and government spending, as well as budget cuts to schools, Medicaid and transportation. And in the end, Gov. Mark Parkinson reasserted on Wednesday that lawmakers must work toward a tax increase in order to avoid cuts that would devastate the state's economy. Lawmakers will return April 28 after leaving in the early morning hours Wednesday.

"As the legislators head home for their April recess, they will be given a chance to hear how their constituents want them to balance the budget when they return at the end of the month," Parkinson said. "Do Kansans want them to continue cutting schools, highways maintenance, and aid to the elderly and disabled? Or, do Kansans want the Legislature to raise the revenue needed to protect these critical assets?"

Parkinson noted that Kansas is showing signs of an improving economy. In numbers announced Wednesday afternoon, tax collections topped expectations by $12 million in March. It is a welcome sign but doesn't erase the first nine months of the year when state revenues fell behind forecasts by $93 million. Nor does that bump lessen the budget gap exceeding $400 million for next fiscal year.

Parkinson, who has made cuts and reallocations amounting to about $1 billion, has repeatedly said he doesn't believe there is room to cut further. Most lawmakers, he said, "reluctantly" agree with him after three months of discussing the budget.

"Legislators that are traditionally considered as conservative have confided in me and some have spoken openly about the fact that we simply cannot cut any more," Parkinson said.

Parkinson renewed calls for raising the cigarette tax and increasing the state sales tax by 1 cent. Lawmakers left this week without passing a budget bill. The final budget work is traditionally done during the veto session, which will begin April 28, but even longtime lawmakers couldn't remember a session in which they left for their first break without having approved an initial budget bill.

House Speaker Mike O'Neal said leaving without a budget is a disappointment — a situation he blamed on the Senate's inability to get a tax package approved in committee work, though some leaders in the Senate pointed to doubts the House had enough votes to pass its budget bill. Leaders in the House, O'Neal said, remain determined to proceed without a tax increase.

"We're not going to simply look at a number for deficits and revenues and fill it with taxes," said O'Neal, R-Hutchinson. "That's silly."

Parkinson on Tuesday dismissed the House budget plan as "irresponsible." He rejected any attempts to cut funding for K-12 education, but indicated he might be willing to accept some modest budget cuts.

"I do understand at the end of the day there may need to be some compromises," he said.

In the Senate, work has focused on a mix of tax increases and more limited tax cuts. So far, sales tax, liquor taxes and cigarette taxes have been heavily discussed, said Senate President Steve Morris, R-Hugoton.

"Nothing," he said, "is off the table."

The Senate Ways and Means Committee will return a week before the rest of lawmakers to resume work on the budget bill. By that time, lawmakers will have the latest revenue projections.

The committee's chairman, Sen. Jay Emler, R-Lindsborg, said the tasks will include producing a tax proposal after several attempts at developing a tax package failed in the Senate's tax committee. Emler said there are too many lawmakers who see too many cuts as being off the table to balance the budget with reductions alone.

"You have to take a look at what lines have been drawn in the sand," he said.