Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A new Kansas school efficiency commission on Friday recommended conducting a study of ways that districts can combine administrative operations as consolidation has become an issue in the governor's race.
Members of the K-12 Student Performance and Efficiency Commission said combining resources could potentially save money in non-academic areas such as purchasing. Commissioners decided that a proposal offering districts incentives to combine or cooperate would be part of the study. They also took off the table a proposal to realign district geographical boundaries.
The action comes after Gov. Sam Brownback raised questions about Democratic gubernatorial candidate Paul Davis' appointment of John Vratil to the commission. Vratil, a Republican who is a former vice president of the Kansas Senate, predicted in a 2011 article in The Topeka Capital-Journal about population declines that "rural school districts will be starved out of existence."
Brownback sent mailers warning Kansas residents of the "Davis-Vratil Education Agenda: CONSOLIDATION." Although Vratil and Davis have insisted they are opposed to forced consolidation, some Republican lawmakers urged Vratil to step down from the commission.
"I'm in a unique position," Vratil warned before the school consolidation discussion began. "In my adult life, I've consistently opposed forced consolidation. This is a very dangerous topic for this commission to even be discussing. I can tell you from personal experience that when you even discuss that people are inclined to misinterpret for their own political advantage."
The discussions about consolidation also have drawn attention to Republican House Speaker Ray Merrick's appointment of Dave Trabert to the efficiency commission. The Wichita Eagle has reported that Trabert, president of conservative think-tank Kansas Policy Institute, wrote in a 2010 report that, "Consolidation of extremely small districts is not a popular topic for discussion, but one that should occur."
On the issue of overhauling how teachers are paid, commissioners declined to issue recommendations on two proposals but decided to support ongoing talks involving the Kansas State Department of Education, the Kansas School Board Association and the unions on the subject. One proposal would change the traditional salary schedule, which ties pay to education and years of experience, to a salary range that takes into account experience and area of expertise. Another would reduce the number of items that must be negotiated with unions.
Commissioners began the day with a report that unspent school balances grew by $152 million from 2008 to 2014. Several commission members expressed concerns, but there weren't enough votes to request a study of how money is carried over for use in future years. School officials say funding uncertainty is one reason for saving money.
Legislators created the commission this year, tying it to a proposal that would increase aid to poor school districts by $129 million for this school year in order to meet the Kansas Supreme Court mandate in March's education funding lawsuit decision.
The commissioners are meeting again next month and have on the agenda a report from vendors about the possibility of a large-scale financial management system.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
