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Schools Ponder Best Use of New State Funds

Posted on: Friday, 8 July 2005, 18:00 CDT

Jul. 8--Most local school districts would use their newly won state funding to create smaller classes, expand pre-kindergarten and all-day kindergarten programs, and improve salaries.

Districts spent Thursday making tentative plans for how to spend the new money while waiting to see whether the Kansas Supreme Court approves the $148.4 million plan legislators passed Wednesday. That money is on top of the $142 million lawmakers approved in their regular session.

"This will be a huge help," Wichita superintendent Winston Brooks said about the $27.7 million his district is projected to receive.

But Brooks pointed out that the new money the Legislature approved -- including the package passed in March and another Wednesday -- falls well short of the $137.3 million district officials estimated they need to help all kids succeed.

Most Kansas districts delayed contract negotiations with their employees until after the Legislature acted.

Wichita, and all the state's school districts, must complete their budgets by Sept. 7, but they also want to know that the court won't throw out any of the new funding provisions after its hearing today.

"I'm not sure the court is going to buy all of this," said Don Adkisson, Derby's finance director.

Here's how Wichita and the districts bordering it would like to put the added money to work:

Wichita

Brooks wants to restart contract talks with employees and start hiring 40 to 60 more teachers to reduce class sizes as soon as possible.

The district wants to get kindergarten, first and second grades at 15 elementary schools down to 15 students. Last year, they averaged 22 or 23.

But finding enough qualified teachers will be challenging because many Kansas districts will also be trying to hire them.

"The competition for the teachers that are available will be really intense," Brooks said.

If enough teachers cannot be found, Brooks plans to hire paraeducators to help provide individual attention.

Wichita teachers deserve raises for the results they have produced, Brooks said, but the district also wants them to agree to either longer days or a longer contract year. The extra time would be used for training.

The district also wants to provide more help for struggling middle and high school students; expand programs for students whose native language is not English; add all-day kindergarten to nine schools; hire custodians and air-conditioning technicians for its newly renovated schools; and hire more librarians, counselors and nurses.

Andover

Superintendent Mark Evans said he thinks the district will be able to address 40 percent to 45 percent of its needs with the new money.

The top priority is to restore school supply budgets, which have been cut for the past three years.

The district also wants to reduce class sizes and increase teacher salaries at a rate higher than inflation. For the past few years, teachers' annual raises have been about 1 percent or 2 percent, Evans said.

Other priorities include adding more nurses, buying buses, increasing training and replacing textbooks before they are outdated.

District officials are also interested in starting a program to put police officers in schools and in adding wireless computer labs, so students can take state assessments at the same time. They want more custodial maintenance and support, more books for the library, more money in the contingency fund and increased training.

Circle

Superintendent Eliese Holt said her district hasn't identified specific uses for added funding, but wants to reduce class sizes.

It would also consider using funds for at-risk students to expand programs that extend learning time, including after-school tutoring and summer school.

Derby

Hiring more teachers to create smaller class sizes tops Derby's list as well, Adkisson said.

"We are looking at class size reductions, additional training for staff and additional salary and benefit increases," he said.

The training will help teachers learn how to help students improve test scores.

Goddard

Spokeswoman Annette Singletary said district officials don't have a plan to spend the money yet.

"It'll be interesting to see what the court's reaction is," she said.

Haysville

District officials have completed negotiations with all employee groups, but would reopen them with the possibility of increasing wages, said Perry McCabe, assistant superintendent.

They would also consider adopting parts of a year-old wish list that includes all-day kindergarten, reduced class sizes, and programs to improve test scores.

Maize

About half of the nearly $2 million that Maize will receive will go toward the additional costs of Maize Central Elementary School, which opens this fall, spokeswoman Karen McDermott said.

The rest will pay to restore some principal and counselor jobs that had been cut to half-time, give employees raises and invest in the capital outlay fund to prepare for future growth.

Rose Hill

Superintendent Randal Chickadonz said money for at-risk students could be used to expand after-school tutoring and summer school programs.

"We'd like to include a few more kids and provide the programs a little more frequently than we were able to in the past."

Valley Center

Superintendent Mike Meier said much of the added funding would likely help pay for increases in fixed costs, including fuel and employees' health insurance.

Meier also would like to consider expanding the district's middle school truancy prevention program to include more grade levels.

By Josh Funk and Dana Strongin

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Copyright (c) 2005, The Wichita Eagle, Kan.

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Source: The Wichita Eagle (Wichita, Kan.)

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