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Appropriations
Deliberations Set for Monday….The
full appropriations committee (Melvin Neufeld, R-Ingalls, Chrm.; Barbara
Ballard, D-Lawrence; Bob Bethell, R-Alden; Bill Feuerborn, D-Garnett; Joann
Flower, R-Oskaloosa; Doug Gatewood, D-Columbus; Jerry Henry, D-Cummings;
Becky Hutchins, R-Holton; Brenda Landwehr, R-Wichita; Harold Lane, D-Topeka;
Bill McCreary, R-Wellington; Joe McLeland, R-Wichita; Dean Newton, R-Prairie
Village; Mary Pilcher-Cook, R-Overland Park; Jo Ann Pottorff, R-Wichita;
Larry Powell, R-Garden City; Tom Sawyer, D-Wichita; Scott Schwab, R-Olathe;
Sharon Schwartz, R-Washington; Bonnie Sharp, D-Kansas City; Shari Weber,
R-Herington; and Jerry Williams, D-Chanute) will meet Monday to receive the
subcommittee report on higher education funding.
Because the subcommittee removed all SB 345 funding for community
colleges and wants to move ahead with the out-district tuition buy-down
without replacing the $3.1 million, this report could be very costly to
community colleges.
Presidents and trustees who are represented by any of the Appropriations
Committee members are encouraged to contact the representative over the
weekend with the message to please support the Senate version regarding
higher education funding. This
means $5.4 million as a part of SB 345 funding for community colleges --
also recommended by the Governor -- as well as $3.1 million from the State
General Fund to replace the money that would come from lowering out-district
tuition from $12 to $6. Another
option would be delaying the buy-down another year this has already been
proposed through HB 2502.
TB Bill Ready to Move Forward….
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment has heard concerns from
higher education representatives about the proposed bill to require
tuberculosis screening for all in-coming students, faculty and staff.
They have rewritten the bill to exclude all but in-coming students
who are from, or who visited, those countries deemed “high risk” by the
Center for Disease Control. Additionally,
KDHE has agreed to involve colleges and universities in writing the rules
and regulations for the proposed law to make the system easily manageable
for our schools and have promised the assistance of local health departments
in carrying out the testing. The
bill will be on the agenda in Senate Public Health and Welfare on Tuesday,
March 8.
Two Are On the Table…. Both
the House and Senate returned from their “turn-around” holiday ready to
work on funding for K-12. Bills
were passed on both sides this week with the Senate version offering up
approximately $135 million and the House taking about $117 million from the
State General Fund and hoping to find another $20 million in tobacco
settlement money. The Senate
Bill is for one year while the House is for three years or more.
Neither calls for a tax increase although any plans for continuation
in the Senate for years two and three indicate more taxes would be needed.
On both sides of the Statehouse, legislators were reminded that this
is a starting place for discussion between the chambers, so it is still
anyone’s guess what the end product will or will not include and how much
money it will offer.
Math and Science Issues Under
Discussion….Thursday evening,
the Senate passed SB 139, a bill that would create the Kansas Academy of
Mathematics and Science. This
bill is directed toward academically talented students in math or science
who would have the opportunity to take advanced classes through this
residential program at a Kansas Regents institution designated by the Board
of Regents. Eligible students
will be currently enrolled in the 11th grade, have completed two
years of high school with distinction in either math or science, have
achieved a minimum composite score of 23 on the ACT or 1100 on the SAT and
have demonstrated the maturity and capability to benefit from their
participation. During the first
two years of operation, there will be no more than one student from each
senatorial district in the state.
The Senate Education Committee heard testimony this week on another bill, SB
44, that would offer teacher service scholarships for those who agree to
teach math or science in
Kansas
for four years following their graduation.
Aimed toward the shortage of available math and science teachers,
discussion on the bill drew some criticism from those who felt it should
apply to all areas of education and could be expanded to include those who
would teach in under-served areas of the state.
Final action on the bill is not currently scheduled.
Citizens for Higher Education to
Meet Again….True to their word,
the Citizens for Higher Education have called a second meeting of the Higher
Education Caucus for next Thursday to discuss funding issues for this
legislative session. The
invitation includes legislators as well as college presidents, higher
education leaders and their governmental liaisons in the Statehouse.
Additionally, they will make a presentation to the House Higher
Education Committee at their Wednesday meeting.
Coming Next Week….
Monday,
March 7:
House Appropriations
9:00 a.m.
, Rm. 514-S Budget committee report
House Higher Education
3:30 p.m.
, Rm. 231-N
SB 9: Community college
contracts with institutions in other states
Tuesday,
March 8: Senate Public Health
& Welfare
1:15 p.m.
, Rm. 2231-N
Final action on
SB 217, tuberculosis evaluations for students entering higher education
classrooms
Wednesday,
March 9: House Higher Education
3:30 p.m.
, Rm. 5231-N Presentation by
Citizens for Higher Education
Thursday,
March 10: House Appropriations
9:00 a.m.
, Rm. 514-S HB 2502:
Out-district tuition
Important Resources to gather legislative and budget
information:
www.accesskansas.org
www.kslegislature.org
Kansas Legislature
http://skyways.lib.ks.us/ksleg/KLRD/klrd.html
Legislative Research Department
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