Kansas Board Of Education Briefed On Budget Cuts

The Kansas State Board of Education has
received a briefing on the effects of cuts to public schools in the
coming year and prospects for the 2012 session.
Members on Tuesday heard about the reductions in various
programs. It is the first step toward making the 2012 budget
request.
The $13.8 billion budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1
cuts overall spending 6.1 percent to close a projected shortfall
that had approached $500 million.
The spending plan reduces general aid to public schools by 5.6
percent, a move that’s likely to force school districts to consider
laying off teachers and other employees in the coming weeks.
General state aid to schools drops by $232 per student, its
biggest decline in at least two decades, from $4,012 to $3,780.