November 21, 2013 Meeting
Presentation by Mark Tallman, Associate Executive Director of the
Kansas Association of School Boards
Summary of November 21, 2013 Meeting
Andover Parent Legislative Council Meeting
November 21, 2013; 11:30 am
District Office
Mark Tallman, associate executive director of the Kansas Association of School Boards, visited Andover Thursday, November 21 to discuss issues that are priorities for Kansas school districts.
First and foremost, Tallman said that the state must increase the knowledge and skills of Kansas
students to enable them to meet future employment needs.
Every increase in educational attainment equals higher pay and lower unemployment. Low skill jobs
are rapidly disappearing.
Our state’s high education levels are being met with growing competition from other states and
countries.
The student achievement gap is primarily economic, and Kansas’ at-risk population is growing.
School leaders propose to improve education outcomes by:
1) raising educational standards
The State Board of Education is moving from requiring a ‘basic” level of proficiency to expecting a
higher level of knowledge and skills for students, reflecting needs for high wage/high demand jobs.
New state assessments, new educator evaluations and a new accreditation system will follow from
the move to higher expectations for students.
2) providing suitable resources for school improvement
Adjusted for inflation, total school funding per pupil has been declining for the past five years.
State aid for local option budgets is nearly $100 million underfunded; state aid for capital outlay has
been eliminated and frozen for special education. This has the effect of shifting cost to local property taxes.
The percentage of Kansas personal income going to K – 12 education is at the lowest level in
decades. The current state Board of Education budget request would restore funding to the 2009 level. This would restore cuts in the base aid per pupil, fully fund special education aid, fund local option budget aid (thereby reducing local property taxes in most districts), and fund capital outlay aid for lower wealth districts.
3) strengthening local leadership
The Kansas Constitution states that public schools are to be “maintained, developed and operated” by locally elected boards. State mandates weaken this local control.
There are legislative proposals which would provide public funding to schools without state
accreditation or public accountability. There is no evidence such programs improve state outcomes.
Proposals to remove the court system’s ability to review school funding could mean that school
finance would be determined by a simple majority of legislators, rather than considering the needs of all students across the state.
November 21, 2013; 11:30 am
District Office
Mark Tallman, associate executive director of the Kansas Association of School Boards, visited Andover Thursday, November 21 to discuss issues that are priorities for Kansas school districts.
First and foremost, Tallman said that the state must increase the knowledge and skills of Kansas
students to enable them to meet future employment needs.
Every increase in educational attainment equals higher pay and lower unemployment. Low skill jobs
are rapidly disappearing.
Our state’s high education levels are being met with growing competition from other states and
countries.
The student achievement gap is primarily economic, and Kansas’ at-risk population is growing.
School leaders propose to improve education outcomes by:
1) raising educational standards
The State Board of Education is moving from requiring a ‘basic” level of proficiency to expecting a
higher level of knowledge and skills for students, reflecting needs for high wage/high demand jobs.
New state assessments, new educator evaluations and a new accreditation system will follow from
the move to higher expectations for students.
2) providing suitable resources for school improvement
Adjusted for inflation, total school funding per pupil has been declining for the past five years.
State aid for local option budgets is nearly $100 million underfunded; state aid for capital outlay has
been eliminated and frozen for special education. This has the effect of shifting cost to local property taxes.
The percentage of Kansas personal income going to K – 12 education is at the lowest level in
decades. The current state Board of Education budget request would restore funding to the 2009 level. This would restore cuts in the base aid per pupil, fully fund special education aid, fund local option budget aid (thereby reducing local property taxes in most districts), and fund capital outlay aid for lower wealth districts.
3) strengthening local leadership
The Kansas Constitution states that public schools are to be “maintained, developed and operated” by locally elected boards. State mandates weaken this local control.
There are legislative proposals which would provide public funding to schools without state
accreditation or public accountability. There is no evidence such programs improve state outcomes.
Proposals to remove the court system’s ability to review school funding could mean that school
finance would be determined by a simple majority of legislators, rather than considering the needs of all students across the state.