School finance reform plan announced

Change is in the air as Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback on Wednesday announced his plan to reform the state's education funding formula.

"Our current K-12 funding formula is broken," Brownback said in a statement. "In the Roadmap for Kansas, I vowed to introduce a new school finance formula that increases local control, transparency, breaks the cycle of litigation and focuses more resources on the classroom. Our proposal is a modern formula that will provide districts the flexibility that is necessary to meet today's challenges, prepare tomorrow's opportunities, and excel in education."

According to a news release issued by Brownback's office, the proposal would provide "stable, predictable and fair funding" for every school district in Kansas. This would be achieved by:

* Providing the statutory $4,492 base state aid per pupil,

* Offsetting local property tax inequity through the Property Tax Equalization Fund which pays out in increasingly greater amounts to districts with low property tax valuation per pupil.

* Further equalizing district budgets through Supplemental Equalization to ensure that each district has a stable funding amount year after year.

* Allowing for unlimited local control of property taxes for educational purposes.

The proposal also includes a baseline amount, which will determine how much funding each school district receives and from what source, as well as a 106 percent cap on the amount of the equalization fund payment.

Under the proposal, the new finance formula would take effect in fiscal year 2014. Assuming the current base state aid of $3,780 is held in FY 2012 and FY 2013 and property values stay stable, the proposed formula would cost the state general fund an additional $45.1 million in FY 2014. No district would receive less money under the proposal, and approximately half would receive additional amounts, the release said.