Message from Kansas House Democratic Leader

Here is a message from Representative Paul Davis. Representative Davis is the Democratic Leader in the Kansas House.  Later today, the official revenue estimates will be released.  Hopefully they will be positive.
David

April 16, 2010


Dear Concerned Educator,
The Kansas Legislature has completed the 2010 Regular Session. We will reconvene on April 28th for the annual Wrap-Up Session. I know many of you are anxiously waiting to find out what will happen with the FY 2011 budget and this seemed an appropriate time to provide an update.

Every legislative session since 1996, the budget has been divided in two parts: a “Mega Appropriations Bill” and an “Omnibus Budget Bill.” The Mega Appropriations Bill is voted on prior to First Adjournment and includes the bulk of funding for state agencies. During the annual Wrap-Up Session, the Legislature takes up the Omnibus Budget Bill, which makes adjustments based on updated revenue estimates (updated estimates become available after taxes are filed on April 15th. The next round of estimates are actually being released this afternoon).

We had expected to debate the Mega Appropriations bill before First Adjournment as usual, but the vote was postponed until Wrap-Up session. As much as I regret to prolong the suspense, this was probably the right decision. The appropriations process is always challenging- even when there are surpluses. During economic downfalls when there are no “good” choices, it becomes next to impossible. The revenue gap was projected at $400 million when the last estimates were made in November 2009 and that gap has grown steadily each month. Additionally, some pending federal proposals would significantly decrease the size of the shortfall if approved. After six rounds of cuts, there is a big difference between a $400 million and a $500 million hole. It is best to wait to make the most difficult (and important) decisions of the session until the most accurate numbers are available.

In February, we encouraged you and your community to voice your concerns about additional cuts to public education in the next fiscal year. I want to personally thank you for answering that call. In addition to your letters and phone calls, approximately 1,000 teachers, students and parents from across the state (as far west as Colby) took advantage of Spring Break by marching to the Capitol.

We can’t stop now. Before First Adjournment, House Republican Leaders proposed an additional $200 million cut public education. As you well know, such a cut would be detrimental to local districts, as well as local economies. The House Republican Leadership’s plan clearly indicates their lack of commitment to our schoolchildren and will result in passing the buck onto local communities in the form of higher property taxes. The attached handout shows the effect that the House Republican plan would have on your local school district.

Despite the fact that the Legislature has a constitutional obligation to fund quality public schools, deeper cuts to education would be terribly short-sighted. The economy of Kansas will not grow if we are unable to provide a highly trained, educated workforce to the business community. You may have read in the newspaper recently about how fourteen local chambers of commerce came out in support of revenue increases. They clearly recognize the importance of funding education as it relates to economic growth.

It will take years to recover from the damage schools have already endured, and I know you understand this better than anyone. I hope you will continue to be direct and clear with your patrons in telling them what services/programs/positions will be eliminated if the proposed cuts go through in the next fiscal year. Keep encouraging them to contact legislators. If your local legislators refuse to listen, I urge you and your community to keep that in mind next November.

House Democrats, some moderate House Republicans (along with our counterparts in the Senate) and Governor Parkinson are working together to do all we can to protect K-12 education amid this economic crisis. We believe that the quality of our education system is directly tied to our state’s economic security and we will stand by that principle as we cast the final votes of the 2010 session.

We look forward to hearing from you and we will be in touch again soon.

Sincerely,
Representative Paul Davis,
Kansas House Democratic Leader
300 S.W. 10th Avenue, Ste. 359-W
Topeka, KS 66612
(W) 785.296.7630
(F) 785.296.0251
http://www.kshousedems.com/